Education

DESE Moving To Fully Implement 'Common Core State Standards'

St. Louis Public Radio | By Marshall Griffin,

Marshall Griffin

Published April 1, 2013 at 7:00 PM CDT

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) is moving forward with fully implementing new standards in Missouri’s K-12 schools for teaching math, English and language arts.

Spokeswoman Sarah Potter says the new standards are based on those crafted by theCommon Core State Standards initiative.

“The standards say what students should know and be able to do by the end of each grade level to be on track for success in college and career,” Potter said.

More than 360 public schools in Missouri are taking part in a pilot program to test out a new assessment system based on Common Core for students in grades 3 through 11. Potter says Missouri adopted the new standards back in 2010.

“We’ve been slowly implementing (them)," Potter said. "The school districts have been changing over curriculum, rewriting curriculum, and adapting to these new standards, and we’re gonna start testing for them officially in the 2014-2015 school year.”

The assessment system is being developed by the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium.

Meanwhile, there’s a turf war between DESE and the legislature over who has the authority to implement curriculum standards. Legislation in the Missouri Housewould block the use of Common Core State Standards outright, and there's a Missouri Senate billthat would require a public hearing in each of the state’s Congressional districts before those standards could be fully implemented.

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Marshall Griffin

Missouri Public Radio State House Reporter Marshall Griffin is a proud alumnus of the University of Mississippi (a.k.a., Ole Miss), and has been in radio for over 20 years, starting out as a deejay. His big break in news came when the first President Bush ordered the invasion of Panama in 1989. Marshall was working the graveyard shift at a rock station, and began ripping news bulletins off the old AP teletype and reading updates between songs. From there on, his radio career turned toward news reporting and anchoring. In 1999, he became the capital bureau chief for Florida's Radio Networks, and in 2003 he became News Director at WFSU-FM/Florida Public Radio. During his time in Tallahassee he covered seven legislative sessions, Governor Jeb Bush's administration, four hurricanes, the Terri Schiavo saga, and the 2000 presidential recount. Before coming to Missouri, he enjoyed a brief stint in the Blue Ridge Mountains, reporting and anchoring for WWNC-AM in Asheville, North Carolina. Marshall lives in Jefferson City with his wife, Julie, their dogs, Max and Mason, and their cat, Honey.

See stories by Marshall Griffin

Marshall Griffin

St. Louis Public Radio State House Reporter Marshall Griffin is a native of Mississippi and proud alumnus of Ole Miss (welcome to the SEC, Mizzou!). He has been in radio for over 20 years, starting out as a deejay. His big break in news came when the first President Bush ordered the invasion of Panama in 1989. Marshall was working the graveyard shift at a rock station, and began ripping news bulletins off an old AP teletype and reading updates between songs. From there on, his radio career turned toward news reporting and anchoring. In 1999, he became the capital bureau chief for Florida's Radio Networks, and in 2003 he became News Director at WFSU-FM/Florida Public Radio. During his time in Tallahassee he covered seven legislative sessions, Governor Jeb Bush's administration, four hurricanes, the Terri Schiavo saga, and the 2000 presidential recount. Before coming to Missouri, he enjoyed a brief stint in the Blue Ridge Mountains, reporting and anchoring for WWNC-AM in Asheville, North Carolina. Marshall lives in Jefferson City with his wife, Julie, their dogs, Max and Liberty Belle, and their cat, Honey.