DOE selects Common Core curricula

The Department of Education on Feb. 28 announced it had chosen new curricula for grades K-8 based on the national Common Core Learning Standards. Although the new state tests being rolled out this spring are based on the demanding standards, schools that choose to order the new materials will only begin using them in the fall.

UFT President Michael Mulgrew responded with the following statement:

While it comes too late to help the kids for this year’s tests, the DOE’s announcement is a welcome acknowledgment that teachers need curriculum that will help their students meet the demands of tests based on the new Common Core standards. We are concerned, however, with the cost of these new materials; how well they will actually match the Common Core standards; and whether the new curricula and their accompanying materials will be ready for the start of the new school year.