Common Core state standards for English language arts and mathematics have been implemented in 42 states as of August 2015, which is three fewer states than at the end of 2013.
Texas legislators implemented House Bill 462 in 2013, which prohibits schools from adopting Common Core and maintains the existing education guidelines the state adheres to—the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, or TEKS.
“In Conroe [ISD], we have a very succinct way in how we provide teachers instructions on the various needs of kids and how they approach the TEKS,” said Hedith Upshaw, CISD director of curriculum, instruction and staff development.
According to Lauren Callahan, information specialist for the Texas Education Agency, the Texas education code states the TEA board of directors must work with Texans to determine curriculum standards. To implement a whole new curriculum like Common Core would cost the state billions of dollars, she said.
“When the state of Texas tells us, ‘You’re going to teach this certain TEKS in this certain grade level,’ that’s what [teachers] do,” Upshaw said. “Districts across the state of Texas get to choose how [they] implement them, and I think that’s what is very different for many districts.”
TEKS guidelines were first implemented in the mid-1990s with updates incorporated when appropriate, Callahan said. Common Core was in its beginning phases in 2007.
“The Common Core state standards were designed to ensure students graduated from high school ready for college and a career and to be globally competitive,” said Carrie Heath Phillips, program director for college- and career-readiness standards at the Council of Chief State School Officers in Washington, D.C.
Common Core sets standards for math and English language arts only. The TEKS curriculum accounts for all core subjects and classes, such as foreign language, technology applications, fine arts and other electives.
“Standards are guidelines for what each child should know and be able to do by the end of each grade level,” Phillips said. “Standards do not determine the curriculum or the lessons or specific tools teachers should use to help students reach the standards. Those decisions are left up to local school boards and educators at the local level.”
Similarly, in Texas, officials at the state level do not determine how teachers adhere to the TEKS in the classroom as long as students are exhibiting signs of being prepared for the next grade level, Upshaw said.
“We need to prepare kids for problem-solving, critical thinking and teamwork,” Upshaw said. “If all we show them is one way to answer something, then we’re not preparing them for the real world. TEKS have the chance to do that.”
Upshaw said it can be a challenge to teach according to TEKS guidelines because the new ways of learning are not always the same ways teachers were trained.
“We need to do a better job of teaching teachers how to teach kids this way. Does the state of Texas give you that? No. Do we do that in Conroe? Yes.”
