Impact of the Common Core on Social-Emotional Learning Initiatives with Diverse Students

Abstract

A leading challenge for educators in the twenty-first century is to effectively promote academic outcomes among diverse student learners. Indeed, students from diverse and/or minority ethno-cultural, linguistic, and socioeconomic backgrounds are much more likely to experience academic difficulties and dropout. The Common Core initiative has been endorsed nationally, with a majority of states and federal territories following suit rapidly with implementation of new standardized testing regiments in the hopes of improving student learning and raising academic knowledge of all students. While this desire to improve academic outcomes of children is laudable, critics contend that the new standards are being established hastily and without due care as to how implementation of the new testing standards will impact school programming, student engagement, or long-term student learning. Research increasingly is showing that implementation of evidence-based social-emotional learning (SEL) interventions by classroom teachers and other school personnel can improve both immediate and long-term social-emotional competencies and also can result in direct and measurable academic gains. Advocates fear that implementation of Common Core initiatives will result in increased instructional demands and classroom time related to helping students pass standardize testing requirements, at the expense of social-emotional programming and other classroom enrichment activities that may better promote long-term student outcomes. This article will explore the growing evidence base for SEL programming in the schools and will discuss how Common Core initiatives, while perhaps well-intentioned, may actually hinder rather support student achievement outcomes.