THE POTENTIAL IMPACT OF THE COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS ON K-12 TEACHERS IN THE UNITED STATES =

Abstract

ABSTRACT For the first time in American history, there is a single set of educational standards for students from kindergarten to grade twelve, the Common Core State Standards, that are voluntary adopted by almost all states. In spite of its first draft’s release only four years ago in 2010, the Common Core State Standards have already been considered the most significant shift in the modern American education, affecting a wide variety of groups such as students, parents, teachers, education leaders, etc. However, there is a lack of comprehension ofthe Common Core State Standardsoutside the United States, especially its effect on teachers and teaching preparation programs. Hence, a systematic understanding may help fill the gap of knowledge in not only the most up-to-date education initiative but also the rooted causes of future transitions in the American education system.

This study aims at investigating the impact of the Common Core State Standards on k-12 teachers and teaching preparation program, specifically the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts. Secondary research method is employed and the steps involve data, content analysis and synthesis.

On the basis of the investigation of the research, it can be concluded that for k-12 teachers there are up to some major changes that have already or likely to occur in their teaching profession, ranging from common expectations, goals, benchmarks for students; increased collaboration to changes in professional development and evaluation. Even teachers of non-core subjects are also affected. For the teacher preparation programs the study found that there are several substantial differences in student recruitment, disciplinary as well as professional courses, field experience and evaluation system.

Further research is recommended to study the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics or dig deeper into other areas of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.