New York State replaced its Common Core Learning Standards with what it is calling the Next Generation Learning Standards after two years of drafting and deliberation.
According to Stephen Sawchuck in Edweek, the new standards maintain much of the same content and “still emphasize learning how to read and analyze increasingly complex texts, and how to learn problem-solving algorithms and model with math.”
He notes that the early-childhood component of the standards have been rewritten to become more developmentally appropriate and to focus on play-based instruction.
Other changes include merging the English Language Arts standards “reading for information” and “reading for literature” which had been separate under the Common Core curriculum. The new curriculum also tries to focus on “exploration” as a mode of thought, in contrast to the analysis-heavy rhetoric of the Common Core standards.
Next Generation Learning Standards also try to ensure that math standards are more age appropriate than they were under the Common Core.
Abraham Kenmore and Miranda Materazzo explain in Edweek that “Unlike common core, which took effect immediately, there will be a three year delay for teachers to learn about the standards before the state begins issuing tests based on them. The new Next Generation Standards are scheduled to be fully implemented in September 2020, with student testing beginning in spring 2021.”
They cite the opinion of district superintendent Thomas Burns, who explains that about half the Common Core was changed, and note that “specific changes include making writing standards more “user-friendly” for teachers, merging some reading standards, and fostering standards for students to build lifelong reading and writing skills.”
Sources and Resources:
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2017/09/14/next-generation-learning-standards-to-soon-replace.html