Established in 2010, the Pennsylvania Core Standards for English Language Arts and Mathematics are a set of rigorous, high-quality academic expectations that all students should master by the end of each grade level. They reflect the knowledge and skills that students need to succeed in life after high school, both in post-secondary education and in the workplace.
The PA Core Standards for ELA and Literacy describe what students should know and be able to do with the English language, prekindergarten through Grade 12. The standards are divided into foundational skills, reading informational text, reading literature, writing, and speaking and listening. The standards provide the targets for instruction and student learning essential for student success in all academic areas, not just language arts classrooms.
The Pennsylvania Core Standards in Mathematics in grades PreK–5 lay a solid foundation in whole numbers, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, and decimals. Taken together, these elements support a student’s ability to learn and apply more demanding math concepts and procedures.
The middle school and high school standards call on students to practice applying mathematical ways of thinking to real world issues and challenges; they prepare students to think and reason mathematically. Additionally, they set a rigorous definition of college and career readiness by demanding that students develop a depth of understanding and ability to apply mathematics to novel situations, as college students and employees regularly do.