Reaching the Goal: The Applicability and Importance of the Common Core State Standards to College and Career Readiness

The Common Core State Standards have been widely adopted, implementation efforts have commenced, and assessment frameworks have begun to roll out. But how will the standards (if faithfully implemented) actually serve a college-bound student population? In order to test this primary aim of CCSS, David Conley and his team at the Educational Policy Improvement surveyed 1,815 two- and four-year college professors in twenty-five different subjects, spanning the gamut from English and math to history, business, and computer science, asking them how relevant and important various Common Core standards are to their courses. The findings: English language arts standards were deemed both relevant and important across disciplines, with particular importance placed on the CCSS’s “speaking and listening” standards. (Eighty percent found this slice of the CCSS standards to be of importance.) On the math front, several strands (including mathematical practices, numbers and quantity, and algebra) were generally found to be applicable for college coursework. The geometry standards, however, were not: Only half the math professors found them to be applicable. The most frequent criticisms from college profs relate to the wording of the standards and to perceived deficiencies in problem-solving and critical-thinking requirements. While the survey’s methodology has rightly raised some eyebrows (or even angry fists), it does provide a sort of affirmation of the CCSS.