State in midst of curriculum transition

New Mexico Education Department

Santa Fe New Mexican - In an effort to ensure that Johnny can not only read by the third grade, but be ready later on for college, New Mexico is implementing the Common Core Standards in kindergarten through grade three in school year 2012-13. The standards, which focus on English-language arts and math, will be implemented in grades four to 12 in 2013-14. Developed by the public-policy driven National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers, the 36 standards are designed to encourage critical thinking among students via a set of vertically aligned lessons -- that is, lessons that build on one another year after year. Some 46 states, as well as the District of Columbia, have adopted Common Core to ensure consistency in education across the nation. Want an example? One English-language arts requisite for understanding and explaining themes in text, for instance, looks like this: In the sixth grade, students analyze in detail how a key individual, event or idea is introduced and illustrated throughout the text. In the seventh grade, they look at the interactions between individuals, events and ideas within a text. In the eighth grade, they analyze how the text makes a connection or distinction between individuals, ideas or events. "Right now, our state standards are a mile wide and an inch deep, and the Common Core Standards are an inch wide and a mile deep," said Denise Johnston, associate superintendent for Santa Fe Public Schools, who is working on a transition to the new curriculum to support the new standards. Read More News New Mexico

State in midst of curriculum transition