Rep. Thatcher: New Oregon Education Standards

New Education Standards Adopted for Oregon Students
By State Representative Kim Thatcher,

Coming to a school near you – new Common Core Standards. This fall the Oregon Board of Education adopted some new national standards to define the knowledge and skills our students need at each grade level to succeed in college or the workforce. Most of the standards won’t take effect until 2014 but the new math achievement standards start right away.

As a member of the House Education Committee, I am cautiously optimistic about these new benchmarks. I am hopeful that teachers are trained sufficiently and that the textbooks and testing we currently have will support the new requirements without putting additional strain on the budget. In the long run, using the national standards enacted by nearly 40 other states might save money because we can share ideas across state lines.

I will be monitoring how setting the bar higher will affect test scores. I hope we can successfully take these new standards from paper to practice in the classroom. Once they are implemented we will be able to see how our students measure up to those across the country.

Click here for more information about the Common Core State Standards