|
Dear Friends,
The landmark Massachusetts Education Reform Act enacted in June of 1993 put
many reforms in motion for Massachusetts' 900,000 public school students in
1800 schools. One important effort was the development of a statewide set of
broad educational goals for all students. This set of goals, called the
Massachusetts Common Core of Learning, is presented in these pages. We are
pleased to share it with you, tell you how it came to be written and how it
fits into the Education Reform process.
The Massachusetts Board of Education organized a Commission on the Common Core
of Learning, and over nine months of work from September 1993 to June 1994 the
forty-member Commission listened to the people of Massachusetts. Almost 2,000
written communications were received, 16 hearings were held around the state,
and in total we estimate that over 50,000 people participated either directly
or indirectly in the development of the Common Core. This process resulted in
major changes and improvements to early drafts, and there is no doubt that the
Commission received significant benefit from such unprecedented participation
by the public in the educational policy making process.
The Commission's final draft was presented to the State Board of Education in
June 1994, and the Board received public comment and made further changes
before unanimously adopting the Massachusetts Common Core of Learning in July
1994.
The Common Core of Learning establishes broad goals and emphasizes that
teaching and learning must be interdisciplinary. It can be used as a guide by
educators, families, students, community members, school committees and school
councils to examine and refine current educational expectations, goals,
policies and practices at the local school level.
When you read the Common Core of Learning, please consider the following
questions:
- What can teachers and school leaders do to implement the Common Core goals for all students?
- How can classroom and school teaching practices best support
interdisciplinary teaching?
- How can parents and families assist in making the Common Core succeed? How can the business community and the public at large help to ensure that students are prepared for the 21st century?
The Common Core of Learning is the first of three steps in a closely-connected process. The second step will be specific and rigorous curriculum guides in
seven academic areas to assist teachers, and the third step will be a
comprehensive system to assess the performance of each individual student and
schools, too. Through this process, the Board and Department of Elementary and Secondary Education look
forward to working in partnership with the Commonwealth's educators, families
and all others as we strive to provide all our students with the knowledge and
skills that are essential to their success.
Robert V. Antonucci
Commissioner of Education
Martin S. Kaplan
Chair, Board of Education
Madelaine S. Marquez
Vice-Chair, Board of Education
Table of Contents
|
State Government · State Services 
