Trust Your Teachers - Fact Sheet

Please Support our College and Career Ready Standards.

As highly educated and trained teachers, WE support them.

We ask YOU to believe in and support US.

Facts You Should Know…..

• We are NOT a “Common Core” state.  Common Core is NOT a “program” in our state.  We only included those standards in our math and English courses of study.
• There are no parental control changes from Alabama’s previous standards to the CCRS. If anything, parents are encouraged to be MORE involved.
•  These standards are posted on the ALSDE website, as well as most school system websites.  The standards went through several drafts, in which stakeholders, teachers, and other officials were asked for input.
•  The SBOE maintains “sole and exclusive vested authority” over our schools.
•   The CCRS are only math and English academic standards.  They do NOT mandate any type of data collection. Regardless, all student and teacher data is protected by FERPA.
•   The Math and English CCRS are NOT a curriculum.  Local systems retain COMPLETE control of their curricula (including texts, resources, and instructional strategies).  Parents are still asked to serve on textbook adoption committees, as they always have.
• Alabama selected its own assessment.  We are the first to utilize ASPIRE for grades 3-8.  This assessment is fully aligned with our courses of study.  Instead of an ineffective “grad exam,” upper grades will take the ACT suite, including ACT plus Writing for ALL 11^TH grade students.   Many students will now receive scholarships as a result. 
•  NO classic literature will be removed from the curriculum.  Non-educators have misunderstood the 30% literature/70% informational text suggestions.  The 70% informational text  is to be shared with history, science, and Career Tech teachers, meaning they will embed reading, writing, and speaking into their curricula (as good teachers have always done).
• These standards are far more rigorous and reflective of 21st Century learning than the previous standards from 2003 and 2007.
• We would not support anything that was not in the best interest of our students.  Trust us. 

Alabama College and Career Ready Standards (posted on our website for all stakeholders):

http://www.ecboe.org/mathccrs              http://www.ecboe.org/elaccrs