LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) -- In nine days, 85 Arkansas teachers across the state revised 65 percent of the Common Core Math Standards. They hope these revisions turn confusion into a statewide understanding.
“We wanted to still hold our students, and our teachers, and our state to that high bar,” said Ouida Newton, Poyen High School math teacher and 2015 Teacher of the Year.
The Department of Education and Governor Asa Hutchinson wanted to revise Common Core math last fall by creating a task force.
“There were teachers around the state that were thinking different things,” said Newton.
Newton was part of the 85 person team responsible for the revision. She says the biggest problem was that teachers were viewing each standard differently.
“As we looked at a standard, I thought I understood what it meant, but then maybe the teacher next to me thought it meant a little something different,” said Newton.
Now following several revisions, it's being called "Arkansas Mathematics Standards."
“It's very clear what are responsibilities are as a teacher and a district,” said Stacy Smith, the Assistant Commissioner of Learning Services.
Smith says these changes make the standard the same statewide.
“What's taught in a classroom in Nashville, Arkansas, should be the same skills taught in Springdale, Arkansas,” said Smith.
The difference between the standard and the curriculum is that a standard is what a student is expected to learn. The curriculum is how the student learns that standard, which is through books, exams and worksheets. The curriculum can change from school to school, but a standard stays the same.
“If we teach those standards the way that they are intended, we are going to have well-prepared students,” said Newton.
Heading into next year, teachers will change their curriculum to meet those standards.
“Do I need to bring up the level of rigor in my classroom?” said Newton.
For students and parents, they will see a gradual change.
“They should be able to do a better job at meeting the needs of the students in their classroom,” said Smith.
English and Language Arts Common Core review is coming up this summer. Revisions, if any, will be implemented by fall 2017, as well as mathematics.
To view the Arkansas Mathematics Standards, go to http://www.arkansased.gov/divisions/learning-services/curriculum-and-instruction/curriculum-framework-documents/mathematics.