08/26/12School Year Starts With New Curriculum
Baltimore Sun (08/26/12) Bowie, LizIn Maryland, the new school year marks the implementation of the Common Core State Standards. Most school districts are incorporating the new reading and math standards into existing lessons, rather than buy new textbooks, and some smaller counties are working together to write a new curriculum. With more subjects requiring research, writing, and analysis, the state has held meetings during the last two summers to train teachers and administrators on the new standards. "We are pushing rigor . . . earlier than we ever have before," says Maryland Superintendent of Schools Lillian Lowery. "I think the biggest shift is a focus on technical reading and writing." Lowery adds that students should perform well on the Maryland School Assessments and the High School Assessments because more is expected of them under Common Core.
