Automated writing evaluation (AWE) is a cutting-edge technology-based intervention designed to help teachers meet their challenges in writing classrooms and improve students' writing proficiency. The fast development of AWE systems, along with the encouragement of technology use in the U.S. K-12 education system by the Common Core State Standards…

In 2010, California adopted the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for math and English. The new standards are part of a state effort to prepare students for college and careers in the 21st-century global economy and narrow longstanding achievement gaps. The state's implementation is complete, but because districts decide whether and when they…

The Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts were a part of a reformation of the nation's reading standards. The demands for higher standards were due to the general public and Federal legislators request for higher student achievement. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore the teachers' life experiences, thoughts,…

The purpose of this study was to: (1) describe elementary teachers' perceptions on their preparedness to implement the English Language Arts Common Core State Standards (ELA-CCSS); (2) determine how perceptions influenced changes in instructional practices; and (3) to explore ELA-CCSS implementation challenges and/or barriers in supporting teacher…

This first Early Implementers Initiative evaluation publication discusses one of the major shifts required by the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), namely the shift to integrated instruction. The integration of science and English language arts (ELA) is the focus of the first main section, and the integration of the science disciplines…

The Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy (CCSS-ELA) were adopted by approximately forty states (though in some cases, with significant revisions). However, researchers are still trying to understand how teachers are implementing the CCSS-ELA at the ground level--that is, in actual ELA classrooms. The CCSS-ELA call for…

The purpose of this qualitative case study is to identify how PLCs influence the high school English teachers' practice in response to key instructional shifts within teaching standards in the Southwest United States. Legislation from the last two decades puts expectations in place that raise the bar for American students and their teachers…

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for English language arts have been adopted by many states across the country in an effort to prepare students for life after high school, whether that be going to college or joining the work force. The anchor standards of the CCSS, known as the College and Career Ready Standards, describe the literacy skills…

The adoption of Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in English language arts and mathematics and Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) for K-12 students by a large majority of states is having a profound influence on curriculum, instruction, and assessment in classrooms across the country. The content standards are intended to promote higher…

This article describes a Tier 2 intervention program for fourth graders that is well suited to supporting implementation of the Common Core State Standards. Screening assessments and miscue analyses were used to clarify students' strengths and challenges. Students then attended only classes that were suited to their particular literacy needs,…

This three-year qualitative study examined how district personnel interpreted the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in English language arts for bilingual teachers' Spanish literacy instruction and the changes that four dual-language (DL) teachers (K-2) made in their Spanish literacy instruction in response to their participation in professional…

The Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC) was created to support teachers in implementing college and career readiness standards in order to teach literacy skills throughout the content areas. Teachers work collaboratively with coaches to further develop their expertise and design standards-driven, literacy-rich writing assignments within their…

"A Teacher's Guide to Using the Common Core State Standards With Gifted and Advanced Learners in the English/Language Arts" provides teachers and administrators a blueprint for differentiating the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts for gifted and advanced students through the use of acceleration, depth, complexity, and…

The purpose of our study was to examine elementary literacy teachers' perceptions of their preparedness to implement the ELA CCSS [English Language Arts Common Core State Standards]. We defined preparedness across three dimensions: teachers' perceived levels of knowledge of the standards and its components; efficacy to implement changes; and…

Developing instructional capacity in schools is a central challenge of the Common Core movement. Most conceptualizations of capacity building focus on infusing externally generated professional development into schools. In this article, we explore the professional resources that reside inside schools that might be utilized to develop instructional…