Resources

Oregon's Common Core State Standards

August 24, 2011

OSBA has been actively involved in working with boards to help them understand how Common Core State Standards (CCSS) will be implemented and what these changes mean for Oregon students.

Oregon has had content standards for education since the Educational Act for the 21st Century was enacted in 1991. With the passage of NCLB in 2001, the state moved to grade level academic content standards, and in 2009, began the work toward common core state standards which was followed by the Oregon State Board of Education adoption of Common Core State Standards for English language arts and Literacy and mathematics in October 2010.

Recently, Joe Wehrli, presented to the member states at NSBA’s Pacific Region meeting, Oregon’s work with the Oregon DATA Project including work with CCSS, and a hot topic table was included at OSBA’s summer board conference in July. Also, OSBA board member Linda Brown from the Lake Oswego School District, and Peggy Holstedt, have been appointed by State Superintendent Castillo to ODE’s CCSS Implementation Stewardship Committee. Brown and Holstedt are also serving on that committee’s communication sub group.

Some of the strengths of the CCSS are their alignment with expectations for college and career success; internationally benchmarked so that students are prepared to succeed in the global economy; consistent learning expectations across the country; and evidence and researched based.

You can find more information on the ODE website including communication flyers (617 KB), fact sheet (568 KB), implementation timelines and a list of frequently asked questions.

A workshop on CCSS is planned for OSBA annual convention in November, presented by Mickey Garrison from ODE.

Discussion of Common Core State Standards and SMART Balance Assessment is also now included in a three-hour board professional development course, A Systems Approach to Student Achievement. To find out more about this grant funded training, call OSBA’s Board Development Services, 1-800-578-6722 or 503-588-2800.