Career- and College-Ready Standards and Instruction

What does it mean to be Career- and College-Ready?

Career- and college-ready students possess the skills necessary to earn a self-sustaining wage and participate in postsecondary opportunities without remediation.  This means that they:

• Use technology and tools strategically in learning and communicating
• Use argument and reasoning  to do research,  construct arguments, and critique the reasoning of others
• Communicate and collaborate effectively with a variety of audiences
• Solve problems, construct explanations and design solutions

These characteristics of career- and college-ready students are visible within the academic standards .   The crosswalk below shows where the standards from various content areas, including the arts and the CTE Career Ready Practices, link to these characteristics. Students that are career- and college-ready are provided with opportunities throughout their K-12 education to use technology and tools; engage in argument, reasoning, and problem solving; and to communicate and collaborate.

Download the Characteristics of Career- and College- Ready Students crosswalk

Career- and College- Ready Portal

The Michigan Department of Education (MDE) is committed to preparing students not just for the opportunities we know about today, but also for the economic and intellectual challenges of the future.  The Michigan Career- and College-Portal is designed to connect educators with the resources and tools that can assist in helping students graduate Career- and College-Ready. 

Common Core State Academic Standards

Introduction

In June 2010, the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) released a set of state-led education standards, the Common Core State Standards (CCSS).  The English Language Arts and Mathematics standards for grades K-12 were developed in collaboration with a variety of stakeholders including content experts, states, teachers, school administrators and parents.  The standards establish clear and consistent goals for learing that will prepare America's children for success in college and work.  Shortly after their release, the State Board of Education adopted the Career and College Ready Common Core State Standards (CCR-CCSS) as the new standards for K-12 Mathematic and English Language Arts.  Concurrently, Michigan signed on as a governing state with the SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium which applied for and received federal funds to develop a series of formative, interim, and summative assessments based on the CCR-CCSS.  New summative assessments are scheduled to replace the MEAP and MME in the spring of 2015.

Download the Common Core State Standards

•  English Language Arts Standards 
•  Mathematics Standards 

Support for CCSS

• Overview of the Common Core State Standards
• Common Core Q & A
• State Board Reaffirms its Support for Merit Curriculum and Common Core 
• Message from State Superintendent Mike Flanagan

 Assessments for the CCSS

• Assessment Transition Plans
• More information on assessment can be found in the assessment section of the Michigan Career- and - College- Ready Portal.

Tools for CCSS

• Publishers' Criteria for the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics
• High School Publishers' Criteria for the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics
• Publishers' Criteria for the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts and Literacy, Grades 3-12
• Publishers' Criteria for the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts and Literacy, Grades K-2
• MOPLS ELA (Michigan Online Professional Learning System - English Language Arts)
• EQuIP Rubrics to Align Instructional Materials to the CCSS

Michigan Content Expectations / Common Core State Standards Crosswalks

• Mathematics
  • Kindergarten Mathematics Crosswalk
  • 1st Grade Mathematics Crosswalk
  • 2nd Grade Mathematics Crosswalk (v.6.12)
  • 3rd Grade Mathematics Crosswalk
  • 4th Grade Mathematics Crosswalk
  • 5th Grade Mathematics Crosswalk
  • 6th Grade Mathematics Crosswalk
  • 7th Grade Mathematics Crosswalk
  • 8th Grade Mathematics Crosswalk
  • High School Mathematics Crosswalk
• English Language Arts (ELA)
  • ELA Unit Framework
  • K-2 ELA Crosswalk
  • 3-5 ELA Crosswalk
  • 6-8 ELA Crosswalk
  • 6-12 Content Area Literacy Crosswalk
  • 9-CCR ELA Crosswalk
• Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
  Michigan was one of 26 states that lead the development of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Working with partners from the Lead States, the National Research Council, the National Science Teachers Association, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and Achieve, Inc., Michigan science and engineering educators developed standards to define the science concepts and content students will need to learn from kindergarten through high school graduation. More information can be found at www.michigan.gov/ngss.