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What are the Common Core State Standards (CCSS)?

What are the Common Core State Standards (CCSS)?


Published: Oct. 4, 2022

Every child deserves a rigorous education to help them grow and progress from kindergarten to graduation. In California, schools follow the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), which provide a roadmap for teachers detailing what children should know at each grade level.

The Common Core State Standards were created as part of a 2009 educational initiative that sought to detail what K–12 students throughout the United States should know at the end of each school year about reading, writing, and math. Born out of concerns about radically different models throughout the U.S., the CCSS contains a set of standards meant to challenge students and promote higher-order thinking skills, such as analyzing and solving problems.

The standards progress from kindergarten through twelfth grade and build on one another, so it is easy to look back to the previous grade. It’s important to understand that Common Core does not specify content or material — it is skills-based.

Core Content Connectors (CCC) and Essential Understandings (EU) can help bridge the gap for both children with disabilities and their neurotypical peers. See our article on Core Content Connectors and Essential Understandings for more information.

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