State Education Department will soon vote on proposed changes to the Common Core

Changes are on the way to the Controversial Common Core standards after a massive two year-review by the New York State Education Department.

Committees of 130 teachers and parents considered more than 4,000 public comments to come up with new standards.

The changes won’t be seen until the next school year.

If approved, the State Education Department doesn’t want the new standards rushed. This summer, they’ll work with teachers to get them up to speed on the changes before they take affect.

Right now, the changes are only a draft. They’ll be presented to the Board of Regents next week.

Changes to the English Language Arts test includes:

• Encouraging students to read a variety of texts, both for literacy and informational and encouraging children read for fun. The state points out specific reading selections are up to each local school district.
• Re-examining how difficult books are assigned to different grades, and if they’re appropriate.
• Revising writing standards so the curriculum is more easily understood by teachers.

Changes to the math exam includes:

• Moving some standards to different grade levels, including statistics and probability at the middle school level and algebra at the high school level.
• Clarification of standards, again so teachers have a better understanding of what’s expected.
• Letting students explore standards before learning a subject. The Education Department says it’s important.

The Board of Regents is expected to vote on the new standards the following week.

To see all the changes, click here.