The Common Core. If you’re a school based SLP (in most states) you’ve lived it. If you’re interviewing for a school-based SLP job, you know you need to know about it. Knowing about the CCSS and knowing HOW to use it in your daily practice are two different things! I thought I’d share with you the basics and how I’ve been incorporating the CCSS in my school based therapy.
The Common Core State Standards are standards for kindergarten through 12th grade in English language arts/literacy and mathematics. Today, 43 states have voluntarily adopted and are working to implement the standards, which are designed to ensure that students graduating from high school are prepared to take credit bearing introductory courses in two- or four-year college programs or enter the workforce.
Here is a video published by the folks over at the CCSS that tells a little bit more about the standards.
Basically, instead of states having their own learning standards, they developed national standards. Click here to determine if your state has adopted the CCSS.
When I develop an IEP /Intervention program for students with communication delays I refer to the standards and developmental norms. Just like you would refer to developmental norms, the CCSS provides benchmarks where we can compare our students to their peers. In the “present levels” section of each IEP, we must indicate what specific skills and areas are below expectations. We then develop goals/objectives that match those deficits.
Example: “Compared to her third grade peers, Jenna demonstrates language delays in speaking and writing specific to syntax . Based on the second and third grade common core standard (ELA-LITERACY.L.2.1.D , ELA-LITERACY.L.3.1.B), same aged peers are required to use the past tense forms of frequently occurring irregular verbs (e.g., sat, hid, told). Jenna continues to require direct instruction at this time.”
Do not write goals to meet the CCSS. Instead use them as the reference for educational norms. Obviously the ELA standards are most directly aligned to our scope of practice. The math standards contain a lot of language that may require our support. In the second grade math standards it states, “Students describe and analyze shapes by examining their sides and angles. Students investigate, describe, and reason about decomposing and combining shapes to make other shapes.” The ability to compare/contrast and use vocabulary to describe is often an area where SLPs can give support.
If you’ve seen the news in the last year you know there is a lot of controversy over the CCSS. I think someone above us in educational politics/supervisory boards will always be dictating standards. By using them as a reference combined with developmental norms, we can effectively align with the standards while not make them the focus of our therapy.
Resources:ASHA has a resource page developed for the CCSS. The Website for the CCSS gives information plus you have the opportunity to pull the standards up online.
Several of my friends have Common Core Themed items to make your life simpler. You can head to Teachers Pay Teachers and search “Common Core Speech Therapy.”
The SLP 101 series covers topics for school based therapists. Check out these other SLP 101 Topics:
Getting Started in the Schools :: Learning Targets :: Working Folders :: Scheduling :: Welcome Letter, Attendance, Billing :: Interviewing :: Salaries ::
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