The Common Core

In a school district, every person who is responsible for the delivery of instruction must have the same goal in mind: to offer challenging, yet grade-appropriate curriculum that allows all students to improve themselves academically in a global economy. This does not happen by accident or without a plan. A school should perform like the symphony, with different courses harmonizing with one another, just like a section of instruments. The instructional leaders, of course, must serve as the director of this scholastic symphony, creating models for teachers to use when developing their curriculum.

The design of instruction within the common core should be relevant to the real world applications, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers. Each lesson should be in harmony of the symphony, well balanced with a rigor to relevance framework, that sustains task, allowing students to further develop their skills. These actions to further develop skills should encourage a collaborative atmosphere among teachers and other educational professionals as well for students. 


The implementation of common core standards also should provide a comprehensive guide for instructional delivery through well articulated maps, with information ranging from how the curriculum will be thematically integrated, to the depth of knowledge required to complete a task, to how student results will be authentically assessed.


Teachers, are individual members of the symphony who must determine what portions of the curriculum is at the correct level of complexity for their students and what instructional strategies will serve their student population the best. The entire curriculum should provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, and strive for student success. Teachers should utilizing multiple strategies that integrate the common core standards, allowing the students to witness how their different courses complement one another.

Constructing A Gap Analysis

The first step in developing a Common Core unit is to bring a PLC (Professional Learning Community) team together. The PLC team would be made up from content teachers who specialize in the same content area. The PLC content specific team of teachers would work together to determine existing gaps between the current curriculum and the new Common Core standards. One way to determine the gaps between the current curriculum and the Common Core would be to use the Content Analyzer.  

Using the Content Analyzer allows a PLC team of teachers to align the common core standards as they are compared to one state’s standards. In this process, each of the PLC teams for a designated grade level will review the current state standards as they best matchup to the Common Core curriculum. The use of the Content Analyzer is one of the many tools to help determine any gaps that occur between the two curriculum sets. Identifying gaps is a process that will help identify the discrepancy, or the gap, between the current state curriculum – “What Is” –which is identified teacher practices–and the Common Core curriculum.

A gap occurs when content previously taught at one grade level is now included in the Common Core at an earlier grade level. Thus, as students move to the next grade, they will miss exposure to that content. The gap may occur between one or more grade levels.  A gap does not occur if the content is now present in an upper grade level. This simply means that students will be exposed to that content in a later grade. Using the Content Analyzer is a process designed to guide schools or school districts in identifying where gaps in the current curriculum may occur as they begin to transition to the new Common Core Standards. (See resource link below: How to Read SEC Charts)


Completion of the gap analysis will enable the PLC Team to answer the equity and adequacy questions relative to curricular practices. The following short guide outlines recommended steps for beginning in-depth analyses to focus the work of state education agencies, districts, or school leaders in leading change in curriculum and instruction to meet the new Common Core Standards. The following link provides a short guide to recommended steps for beginning in-depth analyses to aligning existing state curriculum to the Common Core. (Content Analyzer)


The Content Analyzer is also a useful tool for determining essential standards. Essential standards are those grade level/content standards that students must master in order to be successful in school. These standards offer high focus and priority for instructional time, attention, and resources. According to D. B. Reeves, Essential Standards help teachers to focus on the most important standards for the grade level and subject area. Reeves classifies essential standards in three different categories;

• Standards that have endurance provide students with knowledge and skills that will be of value beyond a single test date.
• Standards that have leverage provide knowledge and skills that will be of value in multiple disciplines.
• Standards that ensure readiness for the next level of learning that provide students with essential knowledge and skills that are necessary for success in the next grade or next level of instruction.

A second method for identifying Gaps is to use the Kentucky Model for "Identifying the Gaps between the Kentucky Core Academic Standards (KCAS) for Mathematics" and school’s current curriculum process. This process is similar to the Content Analyzer as it identifies the gaps on a template. (See Resource Link)

Resource Link: How to read SEC charts to compare common core standards to state standards.

Transitioning to the Common Core

Most schools or school districts who's states have reauthorized over into the Common Core are faced with moving away from traditional settings for learning in which individual subject matter skill sets has been taught in isolation.

School districts transitioning to the Common Core will create a curriculum that is both challenging and meaningful 21st Century learners. School districts transitioning to the Common Core will create a curriculum that is both challenging and meaningful 21st Century learners. The process of transitioning to the Common Core has five stages of selected tools, (1) determining gaps within the existing curriculum while unpacking standards, (2) determining real life themes of study through the establishment of an essential question and constructing a curriculum web to identify standards to be included in a unit of study, (3) creating multidimensional task using a rigorous/relevance framework, (4) designing performance based assessments for real world applications and (5) developing unit maps that are tied to standards. The five tools required to complete a unit of study are assembled around the Common Core Unit Development Model.

According  to "The International Center for Leadership in Education" Transitioning into the Common Core standards will take approximately two to three years for local districts to fully implement the components required in both standards and methods of instruction. The planning process for the new Common Core State Standards and next generation assessments should include at minimum the following outcomes and goals, and a program outline:

• Facilitate a three-year transition from current state standards and assessments to the Common Core State Standards and next generation assessments
• Build deep understanding of and commitment to the new Common Core State Standards and assessment
• Support leadership in planning, goal setting, deep professional development, and implementation
• Correlate current standards and assessments to the Common Core State Standards and assessments to identify gaps
• Adjust curriculum to address the new requirements
• Enhance current instructional and assessment practices to increase capacity from the district to the classroom level
• Develop and implement a process to monitor ongoing adherence to plans and goals

What Should Be Done Now

• Make plans to switch next year’s kindergartners to the new standards
• Become aware of which standards have moved grade levels (this is not an overwhelming list)
• Begin greater emphasis on non-fiction reading and writing in all grades
• Wait for the development of aligned materials/standards maps