By Wynn Harrison -- July 22, 2010
Massachusetts Education has decided to step up their academic standards to a national level. They are the 26th state to become a part of the Common Core, a National program which specifies material that should be taught for math and science. These standards apply to grades kindergarten to senior year in high school and will call for an all new Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System test.
More changes due to new standards also include mastering numeric operations in math at an earlier age as well as fiction reading and creative writing in school. This move to change academic standards was a unanimous decision for the board and educators all over the state have been in support of this change when the process started 13 months ago.
The Obama Administration has been encouraging all states to implement these national standards and has even using financial support as incentive.
United States Education Secretary, Arne Duncan says that after Massachusetts is just the beginning to these standards reaching across the country. "What it ensures is that Massachusetts will now be a leader, or the leader, nationally in getting the country where it needs to go. It's a great step in the right direction, not for just the children of Massachusetts, but the whole country. It takes courage to lead.''
Director of Communications for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Education, Jonathan Palumbo says that now that the standards have been adopted it's time for Massachusetts schools and students to meet them.
(Photo courtesy; AP Images)
