Common Core is Failing Your Child

Common Core is failing your child. Yes, you read that correctly. The Common Core State Standards Initiative, designed to develop college and career-ready students, is not working according to 84 percent of college instructors.

A study just released by the ACT (the national testing company who competes with the SAT) reveals that more college professors are finding incoming freshmen not prepared for college-level work. The recent study cited only 16 percent of college instructors felt their students were ready for the rigors of freshmen year.

The move to the Common Core curriculum developed to ensure all students are ready for success after high school. The CC focuses on critical-thinking, problem-solving, and analytical skills students will need to be successful. This shift in focus was a significant change in the way curriculum was taught to our K through 12 students.

Common Core Lacks Consistency

While the CC may have overhauled the curriculum, it had no ability to dictate what college instructors taught. College professors still assign extensive readings from Shakespeare, Steinbeck, and Hemingway, along with critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. The CC’s focus on alternative skill-building is very useful for those looking for immediate entry into the job market but is shortchanging our college-bound kids.

While there are many critics of the Common Core and much debate about repealing it, this current trend in American education won’t be going away soon. If you are fearful that our schools aren’t doing enough to prepare your college-bound child, you do have options.

First, ensure that your child is an analytical reader and writer. Several first-year college courses require extensive reading with writing requirements that far exceed typical 12th grade English classes. Second, in addition to the higher levels, ensure your child can focus for extended periods (a term known as engagement). While reading for 20 minutes may be enough to complete an assignment in high school, college students may need to devote several hours at a time to a single task. This aspect of extended focus is challenging when students have been conditioned to focus for only 10 seconds at a time on their friend’s latest Snapchat post!

Besides analytical reading and writing, make certain your child possesses the essential study skills to be successful. Don’t wait until high school, however, to work on these skills. Several studies have revealed that college success can accurately be determined in middle school.  Read more about The Forgotten Middle.