The Alamance-Burlington School System will soon stop being an orange.
ABSS has adopted the Common Core and Essential Standards, an initiative that attempts to level the playing field among its own schools and those around the country so a more accurate comparison can finally be made.
"Before, when we've compared ourselves to other states, it's been like comparing apples to oranges," said Rhonda Schuhler, director of professional development and recruitment for ABSS. "The Common Core standards are intended to get us to more of an apples to apples comparison to other schools."
The standards are intended to get students to use more conceptual and critical thinking rather than just memorizing facts. The initiative also seeks to create more congruency between national and North Carolina educational standards.
"We want our students to be able to analyze and synthesize information to make connections, not just learn basic facts and information," Schuhler said. "It's intended to help students think at higher levels."
Literacy is one of the key areas emphasized in the standards. Educators want students to use literacy skills not just in language arts, but also in other subjects. They want students to develop into good readers, writers and speakers in all subjects, according to Schuhler.
The Common Core categorizes ways of learning into different levels. Basic levels of learning are things like remembering, while more complex levels involve creating and analyzing, according to the North Carolina Department of Instruction's website.
"Instead of, for example, simply memorizing and repeating information, we want students to be able to apply it to a new situation," said Molly Ellington, a third grade teacher at Alexander Wilson Elementary School in Graham and 2008 alumna of Elon's master's of education program.
The new standards will attempt to teach students how to critically evaluate sources of information in an Internet age, where information floods in from everywhere.
The standards have been adopted by 48 states, according to Schuhler, and the uniformity of the plan allows for more accurate comparison among states.
The Common Core also attempts to help educators in various states collaborate more freely. Since the curricula among schools will be more similar, they can more easily share new ideas.
"It gives us an opportunity to share resources and best practices, as well as an opportunity to connect and collaborate with other schools," Schuhler said. "Common Core has created a national conversation between educators that didn't exist before."
The new standards will challenge teachers, as well as students, as they will have to adapt some of their methods toward accomplishing the goals of the new standards.
"It also involves an adjustment from teachers," Ellington said. "We will have to shift some of our thinking about the way that we teach."
While administrators want teachers to adapt to the new method, they don't want them to feel too restricted in the classroom.
"We still want teachers to have a certain amount of instructional freedom so they can adjust to the students that they have in their classroom," Schuhler said.