LAUSD to begin phasing in Common Core curriculum standards
Contra Costa Times
August 4
The way that teachers teach and students learn is about to undergo a radical transformation at school districts nationwide. Students will start learning basic algebra and geometry skills in kindergarten. Multiple-choice tests will be replaced with complex essays, taken and scored by computer. And across every grade level, students will be confronted with tougher reading lessons and more difficult writing assignments. California, 44 other states and the District of Columbia have adopted the Common Core State Standards – the first-ever national framework that outlines what every public school student should know. While plans call for implementing the reforms in fall 2014, Los Angeles Unified and a handful of other districts will begin phasing in the standards during this upcoming school year…Bulky textbooks will likely be replaced in the future with interactive lessons and even games that will reinforce what’s being taught in the classroom. “Digital learning is designed to replace the textbook, not the teacher,” said Judy Codding, a managing director of the Pearson Foundation, the charitable arm of Pearson Education Inc., which is developing Common Core products and is piloting them in some LAUSD campuses.
