Workforce Readiness and the Common Core

ALBANY, NY (02/26/2014)(readMedia)-- Raising the bar for students in New York state is imperative to foster college and career readiness, yet New York's path to adopting new, more rigorous education standards has been fraught with misinformation, according to a new fact sheet, Workforce Readiness and the Common Core, released by The Business Council of New York State.

"The Business Council remains committed to the implementation of Common Core. By the state's own measure only 35 percent of students who graduate high school are ready for college, post-secondary training or the workforce," said Heather C. Briccetti, Esq., president and CEO of The Business Council "We frequently hear from companies that can't find skilled graduates to fill open positions, right here in New York."

Facts regarding the Common Core include the following:

• The Common Core State Standards were developed by the states with input from education experts; the CCSS provide guidelines of what students should be expected to know in each grade level; they are not a curriculum or assessment

.• The U.S. is being outpaced by other countries in math and reading scores. Between 1995 and 2009, U.S. students' performance on math, science and reading assessments were outpaced by students in 24 other countries.

• A "skills gap" currently exists because employers are unable to find a trained workforce to fill open positions. Employers have difficulty finding skilled workers to fill open positions citing candidates that lack technical skills and other people and time management skills.

• There is broad support for the standards in the business community; many businesses and business groups statewide support the Common Core standards.

Misperceptions surrounding the Common Core include: students are already well-prepared for college and/or career upon graduation from high school; third-party vendors will have access to student data because of the Common Core; and the standards require more testing.

Educational initiatives that prepare students for the workforce and address the "skills gap" are a priority for The Business Council. The skills gap, which is a major issue on the state and national level, is the mismatch between the available labor force and the high-skilled jobs that employers seek to fill.

Read Workforce Readiness and the Common Core on The Business Council's website, www.bcnys.org.