Common Core vs. Virginia SOL

I have heard so much about Common Core lately, yet I really have no clue what they really include.  Virgina is the ONLY state that did not adopt them because they felt their SOL (like the acronym) were good enough.  So, today I decided to take a look at the differences. The good thing is that the Virginia DOE has done this for me!  The document is 236 pages long, just for English, but it does go all the way from K-12.  I really only looked at K-1 and then skipped to third grade since I taught 3rd grade for so long.  I did not focus on Math since I only teach Reading.  Click here for a link to the document.

I was concerned with the comparisons since I sell items on TPT.  I wondered if my products, which are geared to VA SOL would match up to everyone else's Common Core Standards.  Needless to say, they will!  The two sets of standards are VERY similar.  As a matter of fact, Virginia's were much more specific at times.

So, how does VA match up the rest of the USA?  Pretty much the same.  There were a few differences.  For example, this notation was found throughout the document in Kindergarten:  "Note: CCSS specify “with prompting and support” while Virginia sets student performance expectations."  Now, I do know that in Kindergarten, even VA teachers do a lot of prompting.  You just have to sometimes!  Some of the VA standards in Kindergarten were not introduced until later in the students' careers.

Needless to say, the standards match up pretty well, which is wonderful.  If they did not within a certain grade level, the students received the instruction in another grade level.   I do wish Virginia would have adopted the Common Core standards because it would keep our curriculum uniform throughout the country.  But, I am glad that they are similar enough!

What really matters is that we are all teaching our students with all that we have!  They deserve the best, and standards don't always cover what is best.  So, we all need to keep doing what we are doing to make our students ready for the world that awaits them!

On to a different tidbit!  I am only one away from 50 followers, and I am ready for a giveaway!  I am working on getting it all together now, which means be on the lookout over the next couple of days!

Until next time!