Does the Common Core Support Thoughtful, Skeptical Readers?

What do we mean when we say we know something?  This core question is a key question missing from the Common Core State Standards.

Susan Kirch says that the focus in the CCSS on "finding evidence" overlooks more essential critical reading skills that are absent in the CCSS.

"The phrases used in [the CCSS] -- use evidence, identify evidence, draw evidence, cite relevant evidence, support with evidence -- imply that evidence is an object that can be identified simply by looking at it."  A more thoughtful approach to critical reading would help students "develop abilities to understand how explanations, arguments, or persuasive narratives are produced."

Here are some other questions to ask:
did the authors prove their claim?
How do we know?
Is an alternative possible?

Is all evidence equally useful, valid, and trustworthy?

How do we decide to trust a source?
Do we tend to believe what we read no matter what it says or who writes it?
Do we tend to believe what we read only when it is consistent with our own personal experience?

Susan Kirch "Teaching and Learning the Purpose of Evidence for Knowledge and Knowing" The Reading Teacher, Sept/Oct 2015