Illinois Learning Standards

Helping Your Child Become a Mathematically Strong Student

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) were developed by educators, experts, parents and administrators to improve educational outcomes for students across the country reflecting both our aspirations for our children and the realities of the classroom. The Common Core State Standards came about by a state-led effort to establish a shared set of clear educational standards for English language arts and mathematics. These standards are designed to ensure that students graduating from high school are prepared to go to college or enter the workforce and that parents, teachers and students have a clear understanding of what is expected of them. The standards are benchmarked to international standards to guarantee that our students are competitive in the emerging global marketplace. Educational standards help teachers ensure their students have the skills and knowledge they need to be successful by providing clear goals for student learning.

Common standards will help ensure that students are receiving a high quality education consistently, from school to school and state to state. Standards do not tell teachers how to teach, but they do help teachers figure out the knowledge and skills their students should have so that teachers can build the best lessons and environments for their classrooms. Standards also help students and parents by setting clear and realistic goals for success. Standards are a first step – a key building block – in providing our young people with a high-quality education that will prepare them for success in college and work. Of course, standards are not the only thing that is needed for our children’s success, but they provide an accessible roadmap for our teachers, parents, and students.

Beginning in the Fall of 2014 our students will no longer take the ISAT assessment. The ISAT will be replaced by a series of assessments developed by Partnership for Assessment of Reading for College and Careers (PARCC). PARCC is a 23-state consortium working together to develop next-generation K-12 assessments in English and math. We will keep parents informed about the new assessments as information is made available. For more information visit the PARCC website at www.parcconline.org.