This conceptual paper assesses prevalent critiques of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and analyzes content from the CCSS in language arts and literacy to determine whether the standards are likely to support or undermine key democratic aims of education. The authors conclude that critiques of the CCSS have some merit but are generally…

The transition to Common Core State Standards for Mathematics has created a need for high-quality professional learning on content and pedagogy. This is especially true for algebra 1 teachers in Florida, where students must pass a standards-based exam as a requirement to earning a high school diploma. Time, distance, and cost constraints can get…

High-stakes testing has been a part of American education since its inception. The laws that govern the use of high-stakes tests include language that mandates the inclusion of students in special education. These laws play an influential role in the new large-scale assessments aligned with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). The assessments…

The shift to the Common Core at the Lazaro Cardenas Elementary School, a pre-K to third grade school in a predominantly Latino area in southwest Chicago, rested on instructional improvement efforts Jeremy Feiwell initiated five years earlier in 2006, when he became Cardenas's principal. Feiwell knew from his years as a teacher at Cardenas that…

This report presents the results of expert panels' item-by-item analysis of the 2015 PISA Reading Literacy and Mathematics Literacy assessments and compares study findings on PISA's representation of deeper learning with that of other related studies. Results indicate that about 11% to 14% of PISA's total raw score value for reading and…

This new report, produced by the EPE Research Center in partnership with Education First, a national education policy and strategic consulting firm, provides an update on states' progress toward creating plans for implementing the Common Core State Standards. Moving Forward: A National Perspective on States' Progress in Common Core State Standards…

This dynamic resource offers teachers a new way to energize the teaching of writing while also meeting Common Core State Standards. The author draws on his unique background in education and media to provide this "all-in-one" resource to help teachers use the versatility of scriptwriting to motivate students and support literacy skills…

The author argues that access to books and time to read play a vital role in literacy development and explains why standardized tests are detrimental to students' literacy development.

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…

Children using robotics for engineering, science, technology, and mathematics (CREST-M) is an ongoing curriculum creation and evaluation project developing math-focused science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) curriculum units that incorporate storytelling with math and are designed to be engaging for students from backgrounds…

Wide and persistent gaps in math achievement separate English learners from their English-proficient peers. The consequences of these gaps are severe and long lasting. Without a solid foundation in math, students are less likely to access and excel in college preparatory math and science classes in high school. Without high-level math classes in…

"Principled Resistance: How Teachers Resolve Ethical Dilemmas" brings together senior scholars and activist teachers to explore the concept of resistance as a necessary response to mandates that conflict with their understanding of quality teaching. The book provides vivid examples of the pedagogical, professional, and democratic…

This in-brief technical report documents the results from two different analytic approaches for examining the reliability of the slope for easyCBM® reading measures in Grades K-8. Results varied by grade, assessment measure, and the analytic approach. Results patterns are discussed.

This article offers a brief introduction to governmentality studies and the conceptual tools that it provides to help English educators recognise the ideas and practices that education policies mobilise to steer our professions towards particular values, norms and outcomes. After a short overview of governmentality, it offers a short discussion of…

Communication has long been emphasized in standards-based instruction (NCTM 1991; 2000), yet little distinction has been made between oral and written forms. Nonetheless, both the mathematics and the English language arts Common Core State Standards (CCSS) documents continue to hint at the importance of writing mathematically (CCSSI 2010). The…