Common Core

Written by Carly Berke – Staff Writer

Implementation of the Common Core State Standards will complete during the 2013-2014 school year.  Common Core is a program designed to help prepare students for college and career-level work and to assist them in obtaining skills needed to collaborate with peers and students across the globe.  The program first appeared at CHS in the form of electronic tests that students in English classes have taken throughout the 2012-2013 school year.  In addition, teachers in the English and Mathematics department have been readjusting their curriculum to meet the new educational standards.  The Department of Education will also assist and monitor schools in educating and helping students meet the new standards with Next Generation Assessments, which will replace former standardized testing.

“I believe [Common Core is] important because it combines real-world aspects, with 21st century, with technology, with collaboration, all in one,” said Assistant Principal of Curriculum, Ryan Emery. “It really helps with the new-age learning.”

In addition to new educational standards, the California Department of Education has adopted the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, which works in collaboration with Common Core to provide new standardized testing.  Instead of Standardized Testing and Reporting assessments, students will take NGAs. The NGAs are computerized tests that track and monitor students’ education and comprehension of 21st century skills.  The NGAs are expected to be fully implemented during the 2014-2015 school year.

Though the standards provide the framework for the education students need, no clear guidelines are given to teachers on how to instruct their classes.  They must reconstruct their own curriculum to meet the new standards.

“More time will be spent on complex problems and skills like persistence, trial and error, and using different representations of a problem,” said Algebra I and Geometry teacher, Anush Chalian.

As Common Core sweeps through schools across the nation, including those of LVUSD, CHS testing and curriculum will be revamped as needed to ensure that future graduates are prepared with the skills and mind-set they need to succeed in college and careers.

Writing Initiative

Written by Ambika Vartak – Staff Writer

For the 2013-2014 school year, CHS students will witness a modification of the school curriculum.  Writing and literacy skills will be implemented across all of the subjects, not just English. CHS Principal C.J. Foss hopes that this initiative will promote students to improve their writing and literacy skills.

Foss took the initiative this year upon viewing the students academic performance levels in school. She noticed that while 75 percent of the students are above proficient in their standardized testing achievement reports, 25 percent were scoring below proficient. Not only does Foss want to improve the academic scores, she also wants to prepare students for the challenges of the 21st century, namely college and career.

“[To prepare for students’ college education and career] they have to write in everything they do,” said Foss. Being an effective communicator is key to being successful.”

All teachers will be required to teach their students the eight-step reading and writing process. The eight-step writing process consists of reading the question carefully, underlining important direction words in the passage and annotating and generating a thesis, which will be proved with examples. In the coming years, Foss is expecting to see writing in classes such as math, physical education, ceramics and other subjects. For instance, students will have to write reports and use geometrical calculations in fields such as construction and design. Also, because of the new standards physical education students have written quizzes where they will have to elaborate and explain their answers instead of having tests with multiple choice answers.

Although Foss is passionate and firm on this implementation, some students regard it as unnecessary and non-applicable to their future careers.

“[The implementation] is not a good idea because it is unnecessary for people going into math, technology or science,” said sophomore Kristen Doyan. “These people will not have to put writing to use in their everyday careers.”

Foss strives to continue the academic excellence at CHS and wants to see students succeed post high school. With effective planning from administration, the Writing Initiative may help students improve in writing and reading skills