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Resources » Common Core State Standards

Common Core State Standards

The California Standards
and
College and Career Readiness for All!
Information for Parents and Students
 
Welcome to the Chaffey District's site for parents!
 
We at the Chaffey Joint Union High School District believe passionately that all students can and deserve to achieve. As part of our ongoing mission to improve instruction and improve achievement, our first priority is to provide students with the tools and resources they need to be successful in the colleges and careers they will pursue after high school. We are in our third year of CA Standards-aligned curriculum and have purchased new supplemental resources for our students.
 
This site is designed to provide parents, students and our communities with information regarding the California Content Standards (CCS), the Smarter Balanced Assessments (SBAC) and the curriculum of our Math and English courses throughout the District. We welcome any and all questions or concerns regarding any of the information you see here.
 
Background and Purpose of the California Standards
 
The California Standards, based upon the Common Core State Standards, are intended to provide teachers and students with a framework for wide, deep and thoughtful engagement with curriculum and skills embedded in classroom curriculum. They are an outline of skills; they are not a curriculum. They are a revised version of the California State Standards that have been in place since 1997.
 
Developed by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers, the standards highlight the skills and knowledge students should have to meet the needs and expectations of the 21st century academic communities and workforce they will confront once they graduate from our schools. They provide an equitable, concise and rigorous foundation for what students should be able to know and do by the time they complete high school.
 
Looking at the Standards
 

Adopted by the California State Board of Education in August of 2010 and revised in March of 2013, the California Standards

"establish what it means to be a literate person in the twenty-first century. Students learn to closely read and analyze critical works of literature and an array of nonfiction text in an exploding print and digital world. They use research and technology to sift through the staggering amount of information available and engage in collaborative conversations, sharing and reforming viewpoints through a variety of written and speaking applications."

 -- California Department of Education

The full list of the CCSS in ELA and Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science and Technical Subject can be found on the CA Dept. of Education's website.

The full list of the CCSS in Math can be found on the CA Dept. of Education's website.

Shifting Instruction for Students and Teachers

The CA Standards outline 6 shifts in instruction and curriculum.
 
For ELA and Literacy in Science, Social Studies and Career Technical Courses, the CCSS include the following shifts:
 
  • A balance of informational and literary texts
  • A focus on building knowledge within the disciplinesTablet and Apple
  • An emphasis on skills which build upon one another as students progress through school
  • A shift to questions and answers which require students to deeply analyze various texts
  • A focus on developing research skills
  • The development of students' academic vocabulary within all disciplines

For Math, the CCSS include the following shifts:

  • Focus
  • Coherence
  • Fluency
  • Deep Understanding
  • Applications
  • Dual Intensity
 

 The following handout, from Achieve the Core, defines the shifts further for each discipline: Instructional Shifts - Achieve the Core.pdf

Resources for Parents/Students:
 

There are also many useful resources for parents regarding what the CCSS mean for their students and classrooms:

 
How Parents Can Help Students:
 
Many parents have voiced a desire to understand how to support students as they progress through our high schools and new standards. Published by the Council of Great City Schools, here are two great resources for parents as they support students in achieving maximum success:
Frequently Asked Questions:
 

For FAQs, please visit the Core Standards for one of many resources regarding what the standards mean for students, teachers, the classroom and the community.

Common Core across the Country:
 
According to the Common Core State Standards Initiative:
 
Forty-three states, the District of Columbia, four territories, and the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) have adopted the Common Core State Standards.
 

To see an interactive map regarding the progress toward CCSS implementation across the country. Standards in Your State