What are some of the advantages of having Common Core State Standards?
There are many advantages to adopting the Common Core State Standards. The CCS effort provides opportunities to collaborate with other states, reduces costs by pooling resources, and articulates nationally and internationally benchmarked expectations for student performance.
What should we do for a subject area without Common Core Standards?
Teams working through subject areas outside of math and English (reading/writing) will focus PLC time on previously released State Standards and, in the case of The Arts/Health & Fitness/Social Studies, targets identified via Classroom Based Assessments. It it important to note that the Common Core ELA standards introduce a subtle shift in their emphasis on informational text; specifically, the ELA standards not only encourage, but expect that History/Social Studies, Science, and CTE teachers play a prominent role in instruction using informational text.