The Common Core State Standards, released in 2010, were rapidly adopted by more than 40 states. Champions maintained that these rigorous standards would transform American education, but the initiative went on to encounter a bumpy path. A decade on, what are we to make of this ambitious effort? What kind of impact, if any, has it had on the…

Our article focuses on using portfolio assessment to craft quality teaching. Extant research literature on portfolio assessment suggests that the primary purpose of assessment is to serve learning, and portfolio assessments facilitate the process of making linkages among assessment, curriculum, and student learning (Asp, 2000; Bergeron, Wermuth,…

Research over the past two decades has shown the alignment of teachers’ instruction with state standards is generally weak. Proposing that alignment is a useful measure of teachers' curricular knowledge (Shulman, 1986), this study uses a large database of teacher reports of their content coverage to understand the relationship of teacher…

It's true that state standards often have way too much content and aren't written in a way that enhances classroom instruction and formative assessment. That's why this guide is invaluable for any educator who wants to ensure that standards actually lead to higher student achievement. The authors give you good reasons for why some content…

The newly updated "Content-Based Curriculum for High-Ability Learners" provides a solid introduction to curriculum development in gifted and talented education. Written by experts in the field of gifted education, this text uses cutting-edge design techniques and aligns the core content with national and state standards. In addition to a revision…

Given the vital importance of using a scientific approach for curriculum development, the authors employed a design experiment methodology (Brown, 1992; Shavelson et al., 2003) to develop and evaluate, FUSION, a first grade mathematics intervention intended for students with or at-risk for mathematics disabilities. FUSION, funded through IES…

This document presents the proceedings of the Annual Research Forum. Included herein are the following 29 studies: (1) What Factors Influence Algebra 1 Students' Attitudes toward Math? (Elizabeth A. Allen); (2) Low-Income Student and Teacher Impressions of Kagan Cooperative Learning (Andrea Anderson); (3) Developing and Implementing an Articulated…