Recently at OHS, the work that students have been doing seems to be more difficult. This is due to the Common Core Standards that are currently in effect.

The Common Core Standards replace the course level expectations that come from the MO State Standards. This means that the curriculum in harder.

“The standards are more focused on inquiry based learning, application of content and concepts, and higher order thinking skills,” said Mrs. Jan Kellerman.

The idea of Common Core is to have the students learn material by going more in-depth with topics so they can use the learned skills later in life. This will stop students from putting information in their short-term memory, get an A on a test, then forgetting it.

Common Core does not just affect MO. Most of the states have adopted the standards. This sets a foundation of material that every state, with the adopted standards, must teach. This way, if a student were to move from Missouri to Wisconsin they would not be far behind in classes.

For example, if you are in second grade ast Point Elementary you have not learned your multiplication facts yet. For third grade, you move to Wisconsin and you are expected to know your multiplication facts because they had taught them the previous year. This would put you far behind. However, with Common Core, all districts in every state would teach multiplication facts in second grade.

The Common Core test is to come out in 2014.