the common core state standards initiative who’s behind it? what’s it all about?

CASET Conference – October 25, 2013

Anthony (Tony) ZambelliProfessor Emeritus and DirectorSan Diego Center for Economic EducationCuyamaca College

Economics and the Common Core

The Common Core State Standards Initiative Who’s behind it? What’s it all about?

www.corestandards.org

CCSSI Mission and Goals

Provide a clear, consistent understanding of what students are expected to learn

Be robust and relevant to the real world Position US students to compete successfully in the

global economy.

Adapted from: The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO)

Creating the Standards International Benchmarking Feedback and Review Evidence and Research Based

International Benchmarking Used standards from high-performing

countries and provinces to inform content, structure, rigor, coherence and language.

Feedback and Review Postsecondary Faculty K-12 Faculty and staff State curriculum and assessments experts Researchers National organizations

Evidence and Research Based Scholarly research on vocabulary, speaking,

and listening Surveys on the skills students need to enter

college and workforce training Assessment data on college and career

readiness performance

Common Core Adoptions

Question: The Common Core Standards are about

math and ELA. Why are they important to us?Robust and relevant to the real worldSet expectations for what students should learn,

but not howFocus on learning skills, not content

Question:

The Common Core Standards are about math and ELA. Why are they important to us?Teachers are struggling to figure out how to teach

the Common CoreProvides an opening to integrate economics and

financial literacy into math and English classrooms○ See:

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/13-14/bill/asm/ab_0151-0200/ab_166_bill_20130311_amended_asm_v98.html

English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies Design and Organization

ReadingWritingSpeaking and ListeningLanguageMedia requirements blended throughout

Reading Comprehension (Standards 1−9) Range of reading and level of text

complexity (Standard 10, Appx A and B) Key Advances

Addresses reading and writing across the curriculum

Balances literature and informational textsFocuses on text complexity and what students

read

Writing Writing types/purposes (Standards 1−3) Key Advances

Emphasizes argument and informative/explanatory writing

Uses source documents (evidence)

Speaking and Listening Comprehension and collaboration

(Standards 1−3) Key Advances

Includes formal and informal talk

Language Knowledge of language (Standards 1−3) Vocabulary (Standards 4−6) Key Advances

Acquire general academic and domain-specific words and phrases

Mathematics Standards Make sense of problems and persevere in solving

them Reason abstractly and quantitatively. Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning

of others Model with mathematics Use appropriate tools strategically Attend to precision Look for and make use of structure Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning

Points of Intersection: ELA/Literacy

Students use informational texts Students engage in research Students use academic language and

domain specific language

Points of Intersection: Mathematics

Example: The Rule of 72 Show mathematically in general terms or by using

graphs and examples that this rule is correct. Example: Becoming a Millionaire 

Assume that you are 18 years old and drink a latte a day.

Show that under some reasonable set of assumptions that if you give that up and invest the money saved at historical interest rates you will be a millionaire by time you’re 60.

Resources

Council for Economic Education

www.councilforeconed.org

econedlink

www.econedlink.org/ccss/

Council for Economic Education

Council for Economic Education

econedlink

econedlink

econedlink Lessons

7%

12%

14%

67%

K-2 lessons 3-5 lessons

6-8 lessons 9-12 lessons

econedlink Interactives

5%

11%

33%

50%

K-2 interactives

3-5 interactives

6-8 interactives

9-12 interactives

http://sdcee.org