School standards go to a vote

The Louisiana Student Standards Review Steering committee will vote today in New Orleans to approve proposed changes made to the Common Core curriculum.

Louisiana educators created and revised a new set of standards written to address needs of students.

It is the committee’s hope that teachers will be “empowered” by the changes of Common Core standards, Louisiana Standards Review Committee Chairperson Regina Sanford said.

The committees changed 21 percent of the standards across math and English.

There were 854 English language arts standards reviewed with 11 percent of K-2 standards changed. For grades 3-12, it was 20 percent.

In math, 433 standards were reviewed .

For grades K-2, educators changed 10 percent of the math standards. And in grades 3-12, 28 percent changes were made.

The K-2 proposed changes are “developmentally appropriate but still rigorous” allowing for “smooth transitions from one grade to the next,” K-2 content sub-committee leader Anne Smith said.

The current English language arts 3-12 standards were “deemed to be directive” so the revisions “allow teachers more freedom to teach” based on the best instructional method and materials, English language arts content sub-committee leader Laurie Carlton said.

Math standards revision in Algebra 1 and Algebra 2 prior to modifications were “vague and open to multiple interpretations,” mathematics content sub-committee leader Charlotte Boothe said.

The math committee aligned Algebra 1, Geometry and Algebra 2 standards for a more appropriate progression.

If the steering committee approves changes to Common Core, the draft will go before the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education for a vote in March.

This process involved educators from over 30 parishes around the state. Over 100 educators worked on the proposed changes for six months.

Approximately 20 percent of the committee members represented educational, parents and business organizations.

The committee members spent around 9,000 hours developing the new Louisiana Student Standards.