About the Oregon Common Core State Standards (Oregon CCSS)

The Common Core:

Oregon is one of more than 45 states that has adopted the Common Core State Standards, or CCSS. These standards align instruction across our state, our country, and even internationally! The resulting materials, resources, and applications will be aligned, accessible, and are intended to save teachers time.

• Build on what works. Not ‘one more thing’, the CCSS is supported by best practices and programs already in our schools, with a special focus on student engagement. Practices like Proficiency-based Teaching and Learning, the Oregon Literacy Framework, Response to Intervention, and Positive Behavior Interventions & Supports, are all aligned with the CCSS.
   
• Integrate learning. Critical thinking, literacy across the curriculum, and application of skills are key points in the CCSS. Your trip to the grocery store requires planning, reading, math facts, estimation, communication, and critical thinking to make the right purchases. The CCSS require students to integrate their learning just as you do when you fill your shopping cart.
   
• Provide a common approach to learning on a continuum.The CCSS fit with Oregon’s vision of education from preschool to college and career. The goal of the CCSS is to prepare students for a successful life after school. AND, whether they stay put or move often, students will be learning the same content.
   
• Offer more support than ever before. You are now part of a planning team that includes most teachers in America. Because the CCSS has been adopted across the U.S., national organizations and individual teachers have already begun designing lessons, curriculum units, and materials for you to use - free of charge.

These new standards will make us think differently about the way we teach. The Common Core State Standards raise expectations for students, rely on strong content knowledge from teachers, and will require a shift in how and when some content is taught. Transition to these new standards will no doubt require hard work. Thank you for your dedication and support for each other during the transition to a set of standards that will benefit you, your fellow teachers, and students across Oregon.