The Common Core is a set of K–12 academic standards in math and English language arts that set out what students should know and be able to do. The English standards include reading, writing, speaking and listening, and language. The standards can be understood as academic goals for students to aspire to at each grade level.
Here are a handful of example standards:
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1st grade English: “Capitalize dates and names of people.”
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5th grade English: “Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points in a text, identifying which reasons and evidence support which point(s).”
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9th and 10th grade English: “Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience. “
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Kindergarten math: “Solve addition and subtraction word problems, and add and subtract within 10, e.g., by using objects or drawings to represent the problem.”
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3rd grade math: “Generate measurement data by measuring lengths using rulers marked with halves and fourths of an inch. Show the data by making a line plot, where the horizontal scale is marked off in appropriate units— whole numbers, halves, or quarters.”
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High school statistics and probability: “Evaluate and compare strategies on the basis of expected values. For example, compare a high-deductible versus a low-deductible automobile insurance policy using various, but reasonable, chances of having a minor or a major accident.”


