Efforts to privatize education, eliminate teachers' unions, reduce spending on public education, and quantify student performance have demoralized teachers in the USA, and educators struggle to keep up with the many changes while still effectively teaching and caring for their students. Within these reforms, however, there is support for history…

This accessible book will help elementary school teachers improve literacy instruction inside or outside the Common Core environment. The authors address teachers' instructional needs by introducing key concepts from current trends in literacy education--from high-level standards to the use of 21st-century literacies. Readers then follow teachers…

The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) Standards for the 21st Century Learner do not just pay lip-service to the value of reading. They have been aligned with the Common Core standards that were derived from, and now influence, state standards-based tests, such as the Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP) reading tests. It is…

Margaret Heritage presents a practical guide to formative assessment as a process of "inquiry and action" essential to twenty-first century learning. In the wake of the development of the Common Core standards and the effort to develop the appropriate assessments to accompany them, formative assessment has attracted increasing attention…

"The Common Core Companion: The Standards Decoded", by Jim Burke, provides schools, districts, and departments with a common language or set of reference points for effective school-wide implementation of the Common Core State Standards. The book--available in middle and high school editions--clarifies what each standard says, what each…

The Bilingual Multicultural Education Bureau (BMEB) strives to serve all students participating in BMEPs so that all students achieve the program goals as outlined by New Mexico statute and education code, these are: (1) students become bilingual and biliterate in English and a second language; and (2) students meet all academic content standards…

Paul Jablon's "The Synergy of Inquiry" (2014) is well-timed. The 2014 deadline set by No Child Left Behind (NCLB, 2002) for universal student proficiency has come and gone, and according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, "proficiency rates last year were below 50 percent for nearly every racial and ethnic group, in…

Writing is an essential skill for participating in modern American society. Although it is crucial to careers and civic engagement, student writing falls far short of national expectations (College Board, 2004; NCES, 2012; Persky, Daane, & Jin, 2003). The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) seek to increase the rigor of writing instruction…

As part of state transitions to college- and career-ready (CCR) standards, including the Common Core State Standards in more than 40 states (NGA & CCSSO, 2010), states are for the first time administering new summative assessments aligned to those standards and aiming for a higher bar in assessment quality. For a majority of states, this means…

This report proposes a conceptual framework for defining and implementing a system of integrated student supports that provides equitable access to college and career readiness via Linked Learning pathways in high schools. The framework emphasizes the central commitment of the Linked Learning approach to challenge prevailing norms of…

The 2016 edition of the Brown Center Report (BCR) is number five in the third volume and the 15th issue overall. As is customary, this year's BCR contains three studies. Part one is on the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and instruction in math and reading. National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) data indicate that nonfiction is…

Written communication is considered one of the most critical competencies for academic and career success, as evident in surveys of stakeholders from higher education and the workforce. Emphasis on writing skills suggests the need for next-generation assessments of writing proficiency to inform curricular and instructional improvement. This…

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine the experiences of secondary social studies teachers who implemented Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in history/social studies, science and technical subjects in social studies courses requiring End of Course Tests at secondary schools in one suburban…

The Common Core helps address inequity in education by ensuring all students are taught to the same high standards and held to the same rigorous expectations. This helps make sure that ZIP codes do not determine education quality. The Common Core-aligned assessments are integral to realizing the promise of the standards; they act as a…

People do better when more is expected of them. In education circles, this is called the Pygmalion Effect. It has been demonstrated in study after study, and the results can sometimes be quite significant. In one research project, for instance, teacher expectations of a pre-schooler's ability was a robust predictor of the child's high school GPA.…