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Caitlyn Hinkle Hackney English 101: Rhetoric 16 September 2013 Statement of Scope for the Annotated Bibliography Throughout the U.S. school standards vary state to state and sometimes district to district. This often prevents a cohesive way for children to learn, for example if a student live in a state where the standards are much lower and moves to a state where the standards are normal or higher than they may not be up to speed on how to do things and probably will need to be moved down in grades or have classes to help them catch up. The federal government has come to the solution of the Common Core which will create less diversity in school curriculum therefor students can be on the same levels. Due to varying standards many states, forty-five plus the District of Columbia, have decided to implement the Common Core, though officials and teachers criticize saying that there will not be a change in test scores and money will be going to waste if there is no change seen. This essay will explore the views from the perspectives of many who are familiar with the Common Core and who will be implementing it into their schools and districts. Many teachers and school board officials say that this new way of teaching will not show improvement because the kids are working less on how to do a problem and more on why you do it. This type of thinking makes you more prepared yet you are learning less, as it has been explained you are not learning a formula to memorize but more of why that formula is used with that problem. Also many teachers have to be trained over again with the Common Core standards so that they know how to teach with these standards. Students will have to be less dependent on teachers aid and will have to figure out more on their own. This selected bibliography includes sources that discuss the states that will be adopting the Common Core standards and what the teachers, parents, legislators and various other officials think about the standards. While I included sources that discuss how teachers, parents, and legislators feel about the Common Core, I did not include sources that explain in detail the varying states standards currently. The Lewis, Hamilton and Varda article as well as the McGregor article discuss Ohios dealings with the Common Core being applied. While the Gallagher article discusses Maines ideas about the Common Core standards and in particular how Maine was the first state to implement these standards. Gulin explains that parents as well as nonparents do not really know or understand the Common Core and the necessity that they should. The Lu article discusses in general what applies to the Common Core and the idea of it as a whole. Together these articles provide evidence that relates to the Common Core standards and how they are being applied throughout the U.S.

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Annotated Bibliography Gallagher, Noel K. "Maine Schools' Shift to Tougher Standards Will Come With Costs ; As the State Joins Others in a Transition to 'Common Core,' Experts Warn it Will Almost Surely Mean Lower Test Scores." Portland Press Herald (Maine) 21 July 2013: n. pag. elibrary. Web. 6 Sept. 2013. Gallagher discusses the recent issue of Common Core in school districts across Maine and in various states that are joining in the movement. In short, Common Core has been created to establish a better way of learning and to help children understand more why to do certain things in writing and math and less on how to do them. But, many officials and teachers think that there will be a decline in test scores and that the money being spent on the new curriculum is not worth it. Gulin, Alissa. "Core Standards Aren't 'Common' Knowledge." Daily Record, the [Baltimore] 21 Aug. 2013: n. pag. elibrary. Web. 9 Sept. 2013. Gulin explains that many people, even those who will be launching the Common Core programs in schools, do not understand or even know what has implemented these new standards. In addition, after a recent poll Gulin found that both non-parents and parents thought the Common Core was being implemented by the Federal government. As a result, people such as William Reinhard are trying to get the word out there so that people, especially parents know what is happening in the schools their students attend. Lewis, Richard C., Kirk Hamilton, and David Varda. "Common Core Vital to Educating Children." Advocate, the [Newark] 5 Sept. 2013: n. pag. elibrary. Web. 10 Sept. 2013. Lewis, Hamilton and Varda state that many people in Ohio are trying to fight the Common Core, and are trying to have it repealed to be launched in the 2014-15 school year. Despite the fact that these people are trying to repeal, others such as Ohio House

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Education Chairman Gerald L. Stebelton have let their feelings show that they completely stand for the Common Core and that they will not jeopardize the students futures. Lu, Adrienne. "States Train Teachers on Common Core." McClatchy-Tribune News Service 8 Aug. 2013: n. pag. elibrary. Web. 10 Sept. 2013. Lu describes the Common Core as a whole and how certain states have adopted it and started to apply it to their systems. Also she discusses the sides of the Common Core, both positive and negative, without a bias to which side she prefers. In conclusion, Lu explains how the Common Core works and can be achieved if done as it was created to be, thus teachers and students must be prepared for the changes that lie ahead. McGregor, Mark. "New School Standards in Doubt." McClatchy - Tribune Business News 26 Aug. 2013: n. pag. elibrary. Web. 9 Sept. 2013. McGregor communicates the frustrations of Ohio officials due to the extravagant amounts of money that have gone into the Common Core, yet legislators have not made official decisions on what direction the state is headed. Furthermore, the legislators say they want to see better test scores but yet they may keep the old standards and not try something new like the Common Core. Consequently it is possible that millions of dollars that have been spent on curriculum and books to move forward with the Common Core could be a waste.