The Common Core has emphasized reading for comprehension, including making inferences. However, little is known about the instructional materials included in core literacy programs for teaching inferences. The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of background, anaphoric, predictive, and retrospective inferences in instructional…

The construct of academic language has been part of the field of education for many years. Academic language is included in education initiatives such as the Common Core State Standards and the Teacher Performance Assessment (edTPA). Due to the inclusion of academic language in these initiatives, teacher education programs must incorporate…

Background: The Common Core Standards for Mathematics and Next Generation Science Standards were adopted by states with the goal of preparing students with knowledge and skills needed for college, careers, and citizenry. Adopting these standards necessitated considerable changes in instructional practice. While teacher leadership is known to be…

Policymakers have long sought to raise expectations for students through standards-based reform. I examine the extent to which the Common Core State Content Standards (CC) affected student achievement and the size of achievement gaps. I merge together data on preparation for and implementation of the CC with the National Assessment of Educational…

Background: The Common Core Standards for Mathematics and Next Generation Science Standards were adopted by states with the goal of preparing students with knowledge and skills needed for college, careers, and citizenry. Adopting these standards necessitated considerable changes in instructional practice. While teacher leadership is known to be…

A study with prospective teachers without prior mathematical modeling experience sheds light on how their newly developed conceptual understanding of modeling manifested itself in their work on the final task of a modeling module within a pedagogy course in secondary mathematics curriculum and assessment. The main purpose of the module was to…

The purpose of this study was to examine how K to 12 teachers defined the concept of text complexity within the context of materials selection. Using a tripartite definition of text complexity as our benchmark, we found that a majority of participants were unable to adequately define the concept of text complexity. Teachers who were able to define…

The Common Core State Standards Initiative is one of the most controversial pieces of education policy to emerge in decades. Detailing what and when K-12 students should be taught, it has led to expensive reforms and displaced other valuable ways to educate children. In this nuanced and provocative book, Nicholas Tampio argues that, though…

The adoption of the Common Core State Standards has necessitated a change in the instructional practices used by many mathematics teachers. The new standards encourage problem solving and the development of conceptual understanding rather than rote memorization of formulas and rules. Researchers have demonstrated that formative assessment is a…

America's current sociocultural moment requires that we reexamine, reevaluate, and reimagine our dance education policy documents, curriculum, and classroom practice. This position paper raises questions about the assumptions underpinning our dance education archival discourse and infusing the language we use to articulate it. A return to…

Analytical reading and writing are embedded in a disciplinary approach to history instruction and present opportunities to extend students' literacy practices. U.S. educators and researchers have come to rely on the Document-Based Question (DBQ) to assess and develop students' historical knowledge and argument writing. However, this task has been…

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are required in most of the nation's public schools, and many superintendents have been tasked with implementing them in their school systems. Using leadership for learning as a conceptual framework, this case study examined the leadership behaviors of one superintendent in a Midwestern state, whose district…

Among dozens of factors that influence mathematics teaching in the elementary classroom, textbooks endure as a significant contributor to the conversation. While teachers have many considerations while lesson planning, the textbook often forms an important launch point in determining what to include in lessons and how to do so. It follows that…

The purpose of this study was to help determine teachers' beliefs about multimedia and its relationship to literacy and the literacy standards of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). It looks at how four teachers' professional development experiences through an online graduate course at Rutgers University called "Web-Based Multimedia…

Political debate about the Common Core State Standards (the first major education policy initiative in the social media age) ramped up quickly on social media, particularly on Twitter. However, while the increased and intense conversation influenced many states to disavow Common Core in name, those states ended up adopting standards that were…