Top Things Parents Need to Know about the

Maryland College and Career-Ready Standards

In school year 2013-2014, Maryland implemented new, higher standards for student learning the Maryland
College and Career-Ready Standards in all schools across the State. Marylands new standards are based on
the Common Core State Standards, a set of consistent, high-quality academic goals in English/language arts
(ELA) and mathematcs, adopted by Maryland and over 40 other states. The Maryland College and Career-
Ready Standards defne the knowledge and skills all students should master by the end of each grade level in
order to graduate from high school fully prepared to enter college and the workforce. They raise the bar for
student achievement and will help Maryland build a world-class educaton system.
Why do we need new educatonal standards and what do they mean for Maryland students?
Here are the top 10 facts about the Maryland College and Career-Ready Standards all parents should know.

The goal of Marylands new educational
standards is college and workforce
readiness for all students.
Asstudentsprogressthroughthegrades,theywill
buildtheskillsandknowledgetheywillneedto
bepreparedforcollege-levelcourseworkandthe
demandsofthe21
st
centuryworkplace.Studentswill
receiveaneducationthatnotonlyleadstoahigh
schooldiploma,butalsotosuccessincollege,career,
andlifeaftergraduation.

The new standards were
developed by the State, not
the federal government.
Marylandsnewstandardsarebasedonthe
CommonCoreStateStandards,whichwere
developedbythenationsgovernorsand
educationcommissioners,incollaboration
withteachers,researchers,education
experts,andmembersofthehighereducation
andbusinesscommunities.Marylandtookthe
higher,internationallybenchmarkedCommon
CoreStandardsandrefnedthemtomeetthe
Statesneeds,creatingtheMarylandCollege
andCareer-ReadyStandards.
The standards are not a
curriculum and do not tell
teachers how to teach.
Educationalstandardsprovidethefoundation
foracurriculumestablishingwhatstudents
needtolearn,butnotdictatinghowthose
standardsshouldbetaught.Stateeducation
expertsandteachershaveworkedtodetermine
theessentialskillsandknowledgethatstudents
mustknowandbeabletodotomeeteach
standard.Thisframeworkwillhelpteachers
createlessonplans,guidetheirinstruction,
andtailorhowtheyteachthestandardstothe
specifcneedsoftheirstudents.

Better standards call for better
assessments.
Newtestsarebeingdevelopedtomeasurethe
criticalcontentandskillsofthenewstandards.
Marylandispartofaconsortiumofstates,the
PartnershipforAssessmentofReadinessforCollege
andCareers(PARCC),workingtogethertodevelop
acommonsetoftestsalignedtotheCommonCore
Standards.ThePARCCassessmentswilltestwriting
skillsineachgrade,aswellascriticalthinkingand
problemsolvingskills.Studentswilltakethenew
assessmentsoncomputers,allowingteacherstosee
testresultsquicklyandadjustclassroominstruction
totheneedsoftheirstudents.
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MarylandPublicSchools.org
The contents of this fyer were developed under a grant from the U. S. Department of Educaton. However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Educaton, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.
The standards call for
changes in learning for
ELA and mathematics.
InELA,studentswillreadmorecomplex
nonfctionandfctiontexts.Theywilllearnto
createwrittenargumentsusingevidencefrom
multipletextsandtogatherevidencetodefend
theiropinions.Inmiddleandhighschool,students
willapplytheirliteracyskillstomathematics,
science,socialstudies,andtechnicalsubjects
learningtoreadandwritewellinallsubjects.
Inmathematics,studentswilldevelopa
foundationofmathematicalskillsandlearning
fromkindergartenthrough12
th
grade,givingthem
thebuildingblockstounderstandwhyandhow
mathworksinthereal-world.Studentswillstill
memorizemathfacts,buttheywillalsobeasked
toshowtheirunderstandingbyexplainingin
writinghowtheysolvedmathproblems.
The standards create consistent
learning goals for all students regardless
of where they live or go to school.
TheMarylandCollegeandCareer-ReadyStandards
weredevelopedfromtheCommonCoreStateStandards,
whichhavebeenadoptedbyover40otherstates
nationwide.Byhavingconsistentstandards,parentscan
beassuredthattheirchildrenarebeingtaughtthesame
rigorousskillsandknowledgeasotherstudentsacross
Marylandandacrossthecountry.Havingconsistent
standardsalsoprovidesstudents,parents,andteachers
withaclearunderstandingofwhatstudentsshouldbe
learningineachgradelevel.
The standards are benchmarked
against academic standards from the
worlds top-performing countries.
Marylandseducationsystemisconsistentlyranked
asoneofthebestinthenation,butintodaysglobal
economy,competitionforjobscomesnotjustfromacross
thecountry,butspanstheglobe.Studentsmustbe
preparedwiththeskillsandknowledgetocompetewith
theirpeershereathomeaswellasstudentsfromaround
theworld.DevelopmentofMarylandsnewstandardswas
informedbytheacademicstandardsfromanumberof
highachievingcountries,suchasJapanandSingapore.
The standards are aligned
to college and workplace
expectations.
Marylandsnewstandardsrefectthe
knowledgeandskillsmostvaluedby
employersandhighereducation.Leaders
inthehighereducationandbusiness
communitiesplayedavaluablerolein
theirdevelopmentprovidinginsighton
thelearningmostneededbystudents
enteringcollegeandtheworkforce.
Studentswhomasterthestandards
willbeontracktograduatingfromhigh
schoolfullypreparedfortheirnextsteps.
Marylands College and Career-
Ready Standards delve deeper
into core concepts.
Thestandardsaskteachersandstudentstodig
deeperintothecoreskillsandconceptsateach
gradelevel,focusingonthemostimportanttopics
thatstudentsneedtoknow.Teacherswillhave
moretimetocoversubjectsingreaterdetailand
helpstudentsmastercriticalskillsanddevelopa
deeperunderstandingofkeyconcepts.

Marylands new standards
focus on 21
st
century skills.
TheMarylandCollegeandCareer-Ready
Standardsemphasizethedevelopmentof
skillslikeproblemsolving,collaboration,
criticalthinking,andcreativitythatare
vitaltosuccessincollegeandtodays
workplace.Theyalsoallowstudentsto
applytheirlearningtoreal-worldsituations
thatsimulatethetypeofworktheymaydo
inthefuture.
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The clearly defned goals of the Maryland College and
Career-Ready Standards allow families and teachers
to work together to help students succeed. Parents can
continue to play an active role in their childrens education
by communicating with their teachers and monitoring
their childrens academic progress at home.
To learn more, visit: MarylandPublicSchools.org
January2014