WCPSS Logo
WCPSS: A Parent's Guide to the Standards
WCPSS Logo

A Parent's Guide to Elementary Report Cards

New Common Core and N.C. Essential Standards

All North Carolina schools are undergoing changes this school year due to North Carolina's adoption of the new Common Core State Standards and the N.C. Essential Standards.

These new standards describe the essential skills and knowledge that students master annually and provide parents with a clear and common understanding of what their child is expected to learn and know. Use the following tips to help support your child's learning during this change:

1. Talk with your child's teacher.
The standards define how students should progress in their knowledge and skills as they move through each grade level. Read the standards and use them to guide conversations with your child's teacher about their mastery of content and critical skills. Get started today by downloading the PTA's parent tools:

2. Prepare to see more complex reading assignments.
Parents will notice that reading assignments under the new standards will become more challenging. Students will be expected to read and learn from more complex text. When reading, ask your child "why" and "how" questions to spark their critical thinking and comprehension. For reading ideas, download Appendix B at the Common Core website.

3. Watch for testing changes throughout the year.
To make sure every child is on track to meet the new requirements, teachers will begin to use more formative assessments and benchmark tests. Feedback will be immediate from these assessments and will help teachers know when they need to change instruction to suit your child's growth and needs. Parents will continue to see end-of-grade and end-of-course tests. However the way these tests are delivered and how they are constructed will change over time as the state moves towards online testing and incorporates the new standards.

4. Encourage your child to become a better problem solver.
The new standards include both content and practice standards. The content standards are focused on what students are responsible for learning at each grade level. The practice standards explain how students engage in the content to solve problems. Some concepts are introduced earlier and some have been eliminated to allow students to explore mathematics at deeper levels. Students should be encouraged to use multiple representations and methods to solve problems. When working with your child, ask him/her to explain and justify the process used to solve problems. The use of shortcuts or tricks should be limited to allow students to reason about the mathematics. To support mathematical understanding, students will be expected to explain concepts they are learning in their own words.

5. Watch for math course name changes.
Students will continue to take either regular or advanced math courses under the Common Core. However, the courses will be renamed to reflect the new standards:

  • Common Core Math 6 or Common Core Math 6 Plus
  • Common Core Math 7 or Common Core Math 7 Plus
  • Common Core Math 8
  • Common Core Math I
  • Common Core Math II (to begin 2013-14)
  • Common Core Math II PLUS (to begin 2013-14)
  • Common Core Math III (to begin 2013-14)
  • Common Core Math III PLUS (to begin 2013-14)
  • Note: Common Core Math I, II and III will replace the traditional sequence of Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II.