State Schools Chief Announces Spanish Version of Common Core Standards Now Available

From california Dept. of Eduction - NEWS RELEASE

SACRAMENTO—As California moves toward full implementation of the Common Core State Standards, a separate effort underway to translate the English-language arts standards into Spanish has now been completed, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced today.

"Common Core en Español" is a joint effort between the San Diego County Office of Education, Council of Chief State School Officers, and California Department of Education.

"At its heart, Common Core is about ensuring that all children—no matter where they come from or where they live—receive a world-class education that's consistent from school to school, and graduate ready to contribute to the future of our state and our country," Torlakson said, noting that in California one in four children comes to school needing to learn English. "Translating the English-language arts standards into Spanish is a good step toward providing teachers and schools the support they need to reach and teach every child."

The Common Core State Standards, which cover English-language arts and mathematics, will provide a clear, consistent understanding of what students are expected to learn, so schools and families know what they need to do to help them. This is a state-led effort to ensure that all students graduate from public schools ready for careers and college. California's leadership means that all 45 states and three territories that have adopted the standards will have free access to a Spanish translation of the English-language arts standards. Officials also intend to translate the mathematics standards.

The effort is coordinated by San Diego County's Silvia C. Dorta-Duque de Reyes, who recently received an "Administrator of the Year" award from the California Association for Bilingual Education (CABE). A group of district-level educators and language scholars did the translating, including the "linguistic augmentation" needed to ensure the new document goes beyond a word-by-word literal translation to communicate concepts usefully.

The group presented its initial work to a CABE conference last year, and the final translations are now available online for educators and parents to use for free. Additional information on the Common Core State Standards is available from the California Department of Education's Common Core State Standards Web page.

"California is putting these standards to work as the foundation for remodeling our education system," Torlakson said. "This translation is important because it sets the stage for equitable assessment and curriculum development."

Read release HERE.