Should Homeschoolers Follow Common Core? Pros, Cons and a Middle Path

What is Common Core, and what isn’t it?

Common Core is a set of learning goals for math and English, grade by grade, used by most US public schools. It lists what children should be able to do by the end of each grade. It isn’t a curriculum, a textbook, or a teaching method, so you can meet its goals in your own way.

For the full picture, read What is Common Core? A guide for parents.

Why might homeschoolers follow Common Core?

Common Core gives homeschoolers a ready-made map: the skills are already in an order that builds. A checklist catches gaps like telling time, measuring or fractions on a number line. It also makes a move back to a US school easier, and progress simpler to show in states that ask for tests or portfolios.

• A ready-made map. You don’t have to work out what comes after two-digit addition. The standards have already put the skills in an order that builds.
• Fewer gaps. It’s easy to over-teach what you enjoy and skip what you don’t. A checklist catches the gaps (telling time, measuring, fractions on a number line).
• An easy move back to school. If your child might return to a US school, they’ll be at a familiar point.
• Simpler testing and records. In states that ask for tests or portfolios, it’s easy to show progress against standards most reviewers know.

Why do some homeschoolers not follow Common Core?

Some families find grade-level goals too slow or too fast for their child. Classical, Charlotte Mason, Montessori and unschooling families often follow their own sequence. Common Core covers only math and English, and some parents dislike methods in certain Common Core textbooks, though those are publishers’ choices, not the standards.

• Pace. Grade-level goals can feel too slow for some children and too fast for others. Homeschooling lets you go at your child’s pace.
• Philosophy. Classical, Charlotte Mason, Montessori and unschooling families often follow their own sequence.
• Breadth. Common Core covers only math and English. Science, history, the arts, faith and life skills are up to you either way.
• Teaching methods. Some parents dislike methods used in some Common Core textbooks. But those are publishers’ choices, not the standards themselves.

Can I use Common Core without giving up flexibility?

Yes. Use Common Core as a checklist for math and reading only, where skills build step by step and gaps hurt later. Teach in your own way and at your own pace, check the grade’s list a few times a year, and let science, history and art follow your child’s curiosity.

1. Use Common Core as a checklist for math and reading only. These are the subjects where skills build step by step and gaps hurt later.
2. Teach in your own way and at your own pace. The standards don’t require any method. Use real objects, living books, games or an app, whatever works.
3. Check in a few times a year. Look at the grade’s list: what’s mastered, what’s next, what to revisit.
4. Be free everywhere else. Science, history, art and interests can follow your child’s curiosity.

What’s the easiest way to follow Common Core at home?

The easiest way to follow Common Core without planning every lesson is to use materials that already map to it, and to check what they actually cover. Some tools cover only part of a grade; others cover every standard. Look for a list of the standards each lesson teaches before you choose.

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