Dear Friends,
The landmark Massachusetts Education Reform Act enacted in June of 1993 put many reforms in motion for Massachusetts' 900,000 public school students in 1800 schools. One important effort was the development of a statewide set of broad educational goals for all students. This set of goals, called the Massachusetts Common Core of Learning, is presented in these pages. We are pleased to share it with you, tell you how it came to be written and how it fits into the Education Reform process.
The Massachusetts Board of Education organized a Commission on the Common Core of Learning, and over nine months of work from September 1993 to June 1994 the forty-member Commission listened to the people of Massachusetts. Almost 2,000 written communications were received, 16 hearings were held around the state, and in total we estimate that over 50,000 people participated either directly or indirectly in the development of the Common Core. This process resulted in major changes and improvements to early drafts, and there is no doubt that the Commission received significant benefit from such unprecedented participation by the public in the educational policy making process.
The Commission's final draft was presented to the State Board of Education in June 1994, and the Board received public comment and made further changes before unanimously adopting the Massachusetts Common Core of Learning in July 1994.
The Common Core of Learning establishes broad goals and emphasizes that teaching and learning must be interdisciplinary. It can be used as a guide by educators, families, students, community members, school committees and school councils to examine and refine current educational expectations, goals, policies and practices at the local school level.
When you read the Common Core of Learning, please consider the following questions:
The Common Core of Learning is the first of three steps in a closely-connected process. The second step will be specific and rigorous curriculum guides in seven academic areas to assist teachers, and the third step will be a comprehensive system to assess the performance of each individual student and schools, too. Through this process, the Board and Department of Education look forward to working in partnership with the Commonwealth's educators, families and all others as we strive to provide all our students with the knowledge and skills that are essential to their success.
Robert V. Antonucci
Commissioner of Education
Martin S. Kaplan
Chair, Board of Education
Madelaine S. Marquez
Vice-Chair, Board of Education