State of Education in Tennessee Executive Summary – 2011-12 | Page 10

SECTION 1: Year-in-Revi ew

Higher Academic Standards:

The Common Core State Standards
What are the Common Core State Standards?
Common Core State Standards are a set of standards that were developed by state leaders to ensure that every
student graduates high school prepared for college or the workforce, regardless of the state in which they live. The
standards are designed to set clear expectations of what students should know in each grade and subject. They
reflect rigorous learning benchmarks when compared to countries whose students currently outperform American
students on international assessments. States voluntarily choose whether to adopt the standards. To date, 46 states,
including the District of Columbia, have adopted Common Core standards. The initiative is led by the National
Governors Association, the Council of Chief State School Officers, and Achieve.

The transition to Common Core will also include the adoption of new assessments that will test what students have
learned under the new standards. These assessments will replace the current TCAP tests. These assessments will be
administered online and include both an end-of-year final exam and periodic assessments throughout the school year
that will allow teachers to monitor their students’ progress and adapt their teaching methods accordingly. Tennessee
is working with a number of other states in the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers
(PARCC) Consortium to design these new assessments.

What is the timeline for implementing Common Core?
Common Core standards will be phased into English/language arts and math across all grade levels in the coming
academic years, with full implementation scheduled for 2013    4. These standards will require new approaches to
–1
teaching, and students should expect enhanced rigor in their courses.

Why did Tennessee adopt Common Core?
Tennessee is committed to ensuring that high school students graduate prepared for college and career. Currently,
only 15 percent of Tennessee students are college-ready.1 The state took an initial step to raise standards by
adopting the Tennessee Diploma Project standards in 2009 to meet this challenge. By joining nearly every other
state to develop and implement Common Core standards, Tennessee is now taking a further step to enhance the
quality of instruction and learning for its students. By adopting Common Core, teachers in Tennessee will be able
to better learn from and collaborate with teachers in other states, since all teachers will follow a common set of
standards.

Grades K – 2
math and ELA

Grades 3 – 8 math
(partial)

2011 – 2012

2012 – 2013

Grades 3    math (full)
–8
and ELA; Grades 9    2
–1
math and ELA; Grades
6 – 12 literacy
2013 – 2014

How will Common Core affect teaching in Tennessee?
More information on Common Core implementation can be found in the First to the Top Progress Update later in this report.
Common Core standards will represent a significant shift in instructional practice for educators across the state.
Although there is some alignment between Tennessee’s standards and the Common Core, the Common Core requires
a deeper engagement with a smaller number of standards than the state currently requires. Specifically, students will
be required to master more critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Recognizing the new depth to which Common
Core subject areas must be taught, teachers and school and district leaders will need to receive comprehensive
training on implementation of the standards to develop a deep understanding of what they require. The table below
compares a subset of the Tennessee Diploma Project (TDP) and Common Core standards in fourth grade math.

Grade 4 Math Standards
Tennessee Diploma Project

Common Core

Add and subtract fractions with like and unlike
denominators and simplify the answer
Given a set of data or a graph, describe the
distribution of the data using median, range, or mode

17

Make a line plot to display a data set of
measurements in fractions of a unit

Solve problems using whole number division with one
or two digit divisors

1

Compare two fractions with different numerators
and different denominators

Find whole-number quotients and remainders with
up to four-digit dividends and one-digit divisors

ACT. (2011). 2011 ACT National and State Scores. Retrieved from: http://www.act.org/newsroom/data/2011/states.html.

THE STATE OF EDUCATION IN TENNESSEE 2011–12

THE STATE OF EDUCATION IN TENNESSEE 2011–12

18