In April 2014, Indiana abandoned the Common Core, a set of national educational standards, in favor of new state standards. Having been regulated by the Common Core since 2010, both math and English classes at Ben Davis will undergo a few transformations next year to fit the new guidelines. However, the changes will not be as severe as students may expect.

According to math department chair Dave Patz, students will see little difference in the material taught in math classes and will not have to worry about new tests.

“There will be a slight change in what is taught, but the ECA will be the same next year,” Patz said. “We won’t make changes until we evaluate next year.”

The new standards will not have a dramatic effect on English classes, either.

“For English, the standards are pretty much the same,” English department chair Jennifer Roberts said. “For instance, students have to be able to pull evidence from the text to support a claim. Usually, the wording is different, but the basic concepts are the same.”

With the start of a new school year, Ben Davis students will have plenty of things to worry about, but a stressful switch to new standards will not be one of them.

“80 percent of the old standards are still present in each class,” Patz said.