Common Core State Standards

Common Core, although important, are not adopted in my home state of Alaska (where I plan to return to teach). See, Alaska, in certain districts, spends WAY more than any other district in the country. In some districts in Alaska, it can be as much as $45,000 per student. In our big district, Anchorage (45,000 kids), the BSA is about $18,000 (http://www.edweek.org/ew/section/multimedia/map-how-per-pupil-spending-compares-across-us.html). But Common Core isn't always accessible or realistic YET for our schools. Often, in our rural schools, the needs of the family or village come before the importance of schooling, and attendance is a conflict. Students also tend to get shuffled often between teachers or have schools that close down due to lack of funding. Internet access is also a continual problem. So the process to implement Common Core in rural districts has been a challenge and is not fully implemented.
During the chapter by Beach, Thein, and Webb, there is a section that discusses the limitations of a standards-based approach, and I have seen this happen in the Anchorage School District. During my internship in the English Language Learners Program, I saw many policies implemented by ignorant administrators that were just to meet the "standards", not using the best-researched practices, as according to federal law. Standardization can create a trap for teachers and students alike and needs to be a continual improvement process.

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