District/School Administration Administration
The Massachusetts Common Core of Learning

What is the Purpose of the Common Core of Learning?

The Common Core of Learning sets forth the broad goals for education identifying what students should know and be able to do. The goals reflect what citizens highly value and see as essential for success in our democratic society. The purpose of the Common Core of Learning is to provide a focus for improving education in the Commonwealth. Parents of students ask:

• What is my child's school trying to teach?
• What is my child learning in school?
• How is my child doing?

Educators ask the same questions in a different way:

• What are the broad goals of public education?
• What are the specific curriculum areas to be learned?
• How can we accurately measure student progress toward achieving these goals and mastering this curriculum?

The answers to these questions represent the three steps in a comprehensive process which will result in improved education opportunities for every student in the Commonwealth. The Massachusetts Common Core of Learning sets broad goals for education and is the first step in the process of education reform. The second step is the development of state curriculum frameworks for the areas of the arts, English, foreign languages, health, history and social studies, mathematics, and science and technology. These frameworks will contain academic content standards which establish a basis for objective measurement. The third step is the development of an assessment system to evaluate student performance and measure the success of schools.

Every sector of the Massachusetts community has contributed to the drafting of the Common Core of Learning. A 40-member Commission representing the diversity of the Commonwealth worked from September 1993 through June 1994 to gather and analyze ideas, with the aim of setting high goals for all Massachusetts students. Over 15,000 people communicated with the Commission, which was guided by what it heard. The Commission members agreed that high expectations for all students are based on the belief that all children can become lifelong learners and meet high standards.

Improving education in Massachusetts is a long-term process and requires an ongoing commitment by our society. The goals stated in the Common Core should be achieved during the elementary and secondary school years by all students. Further, these goals must be sustained throughout one's lifetime. Individuals must think and communicate, gain and apply knowledge, and work and contribute to society, not only during the school years, but also in the workplace or at home after formal schooling is completed.

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