New Jersey Core Content Standards

A solid education foundation is the primary objective for our schools. I believe teachers need a direction of what materials and information they need to disseminate to their students. A school curriculum based on solid and effective knowledge and principles are essential for the success of any institution of education. The state of New Jersey has provided a great template for all schools to reference and follow in order to create a valuable learning environment and a high level of instruction. The New Jersey Core Standards (NJCCS) is a guide for schools to use as a template for teachers to enhance their unique style through creative ideas. These standards are currently in a revision process and will be implemented in phases according to content area starting in the fall of 2009.
The New Jersey Department of Education has stated several goals regarding the NJCCS. First, the NJCCS “defines what all students should know and be able to do by the end of their public school education”. This criterion gives schools a tangible goal to achieve for all grade levels within all curricular content areas. Next, “It describes the knowledge and skills all NJ students are expected to acquire by benchmark grades”. This criterion provides the teachers an idea of where the student stands in their content area and where they should be in their knowledge and understanding of the material. Once the teachers are aware of the student’s level of knowledge, then they can begin to develop and implement strategies to help the student improve and meet the benchmark standards.
However, the teacher cannot do this alone. They need the support and direction from a positive administration and curriculum team. The following goals of NJCCS are legal requirements developed for the purpose to hold the teachers and schools accountable. NJ state law dictates that “These standards are established for the provision of a thorough and efficient education pursuant to N.J.S.A 18-A: 7F-4 and for the basis for evaluation of school districts in accordance with N.J.A.C. 6A:30-1.4”. Also, “NJAC 6A: 8 – requires districts to align all curriculum to the standards to ensure teachers provide instruction according to the standards, to ensure student performance is assessed in each content area and to provide teachers with opportunities for professional development that focuses on the standards.”
To better comprehend the makeup and rationale of the NJCCS, one needs to understand the foundational principles and design of curriculum. Ralph Tyler can be considered the father of modern curriculum design. His approach is straightforward and rationale. It allows the user to understand curriculum design in a non-threatening and less confusing manner compared to earlier models or theories. According to Ralph Tyler, his model works because it is “Reasonable and workable with many people and the approach works regardless of context or one’s philosophical orientation.” Tyler provided a model for the masses which propelled education in the United States to a higher level of effectiveness and understanding. The Tyler Model is founded on four basic principles which are “to determine the schools purpose, to identify educational experiences related to those purposes, to ascertain how the experiences are organized and to evaluate the purpose. (Curriculum: Foundations, Principles, and Issues. Ornstein. 2009)” These principles are the driving force of any curriculum and are still used by modern curricular design experts like Wiggins and McTighe.
The “Backward Design Model “is the creation of curricular experts Wiggins and McTighe. These individuals are responsible for the task of redesigning the New Jersey Core Content Standards. The “2009 Standards Revision Project” is structured using the “Backward Design Model”. Wiggins and McTighe content that the designer needs to “consider possible contents” that they want to incorporate in their curriculum. Then they need to “narrow choices to the important contents” because the selected content material needs to fit the culture and overall objectives of the school. Last, the designer “selects the final enduring contents”. They achieve these criteria by “identifying expected end points, determining evidence, and then planning the learning experiences”.
The 2009 New Jersey Core Content Standards Revision Project is being designed to propel New Jersey education to the next level of excellence. Our society is constantly changing and evolving with the advent of incredible technologies and challenges both domestic and international. It appears the NJCCS are trying to address this change by creating a more modern and realistic design that takes into account the new skills and knowledge required for our students to succeed in the 21st Century. The NJCCS revision project has created a website that identifies and emphasizes these essential skills. You can access this website by going to http://www.21stcenturyskills.org in order to understand how “technology integration, Interdisciplinary connections, and the Infusion of global perspectives” are going to be used for the benefit of New Jersey teachers, administrators and students.
This is a time of change and development in our educational system. I believe that the NJCCS will greatly assist our school in achieve the high goals and standards set for by President Obama and the New Jersey Department of Education. However, in the end, it is up to the individual New Jersey school districts to embrace this change and rationale and to effectively implement the revised NJCCS into their schools. If the schools are successful in their implementation, then New Jersey school could lead the charge of achieving President Obama’s vision that “by 2020, the USA will have the largest percentage of college graduates in the world.”