Change is coming to the Maryland school’s curricula, standards, and assessments, and we’re not the only state to undergo these changes. Forty-six states in the U.S. have adopted the Common Core State Standards. You’re probably asking, “What are those?”

These new, national standards are meant to help standardize education throughout the country in order to ensure students’ success. At CHS, there are several teachers who are leading the transition to the Common Core. Todd Pinson is heading the changes to math, Sarah Grogan is working with STEM subjects (ccience, technology, engineering and math), and Melanie Coates is working with English/Language Arts changes.

Mr. Pinson explained their roles as the leader of the common core for their individual departments.

“At this point in time, it is a matter of professional development. We need to be informing teachers about the upcoming changes,” Mr. Pinson said.

Mr. Pinson explained that the changes thus far have been very small for teachers since this first year is a “year of transition,” where teachers are learning the new content.

“The main change for teachers as of right now is the new vocabulary we will be using. Instead of having a daily ‘objective,’ we will be calling it a ‘standard,’ for example.”

Looking foward, the State of Maryland has informed teachers, including Mr. Pinson, that the Common Core should be fully implemented within five years.

“It’s hard to say though, because it’s hard to assess students’ learning. Right now we use the HSA’s, but they are not based on the Common Core. In any case, it is going to be a long process,” Mr. Pinson explained.

The biggest anticipated changes are in the area of math.

“Eventually, there are going to be some drastic changes in math, especially in the Algebra 1 & 2 courses, and how they are taught,” he said.

So what does this mean for us? Well, in June 2011, the Maryland State Board of Education adopted the standards. Maryland was one of the first states to do this. The core will not really effect students already at CHS, however, because the standards are not expected to be fully implemented until 2016. All in all, it is a process; not just cut and dry. Significant changes like this take time and the school looks forward to reaping the benefits in the future.