Using the method of educational criticism and connoisseurship, this study examined third grade teachers' pedagogical choices made to prepare their students for high stakes testing under the Common Core Standards. Three teachers in three different suburban school settings within a large district in one of the states of the Rocky Mountain West participated hosting classroom observations weekly for eight weeks. By using four lenses to analyze the observations, actual lessons plans in the teacher handbook, supplemental materials, and teacher reflections, the researcher made pivotal discoveries about the conceptual and procedural items and activities that were or were not taught during the mathematics lessons. These observations facilitated the development of interpretations, thematics and evaluations customary in the method of educational criticism