The following designed-based implementation research (DBIR) study explores the impacts of a research-practice partnership (RPP) on two fifth grade ELA teachers and the researcher as they engaged with the designing and implementation of two critical literacy pedagogy (CLP) units through the adaptation of mandated New York State Common Core (NYSCC)…

As the content knowledge of the world grows, so do the demands placed upon our educational system. These demands come from a variety of sources--local, state, national, and corporate agencies. Critical to meeting these demands are the knowledge, skills, and practices teachers need to educate today's youth. Researchers in the area of teachers'…

While the primary focus of the Common Core Learning Standards is in improving literacy and math, elements of Social Studies topics and skills are emphasized. Primary source analysis and understanding multiple perspectives are just two examples. This article is grounded in a qualitative analysis of integrated instruction in two elementary…

The Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI) is one of the most current reforms in the U.S. educational system. The standards were introduced, adopted, and implemented by 46 states along with the District of Columbia in 2009. Since the adoption of the CCSS, educators have expressed concern regarding the implementation process, specifically…

As an early Common Core booster, Michael Petrilli had hoped that by now--10 years after most states adopted the standards--the nation's schools would have logged tangible improvements in teaching and learning that resulted in higher student achievement. In this article, Petrilli reviews what Common Core is and discusses the work ahead that is…

The purpose of this mixed-method study was to examine elementary teacher perceptions of mandated curriculum change. In the spring and fall of 2015, Illinois elementary school teachers in a north suburban school district participated in a focus group, an online survey, and follow-up interviews to gather data about teachers' perceptions of the…

Education standards do not flop spectacularly. Their failure gives rise to nothing like the black-and-white films of early aeronautical experiments: no missiles exploding on launch pads or planes tumbling from the sky. But 10 years after 46 of the 50 states adopted the Common Core standards, the lack of evidence that they have improved student…

The 10th anniversary of Common Core's launch offers the opportunity to take stock of the impact these nearly national standards have had on student learning, as well as their future prospects. In this article, Morgan Polikoff shares his view that the standards movement in general, and Common Core in particular, have achieved all they are going to…

This mixed-methods study investigated elementary teachers' perceptions of curriculum-based readers theatre (CBRT) as a relevant approach for teaching English language learners (ELLs). I collected quantitative survey data from teachers who worked at the school with the largest population of ELLs in a large Florida school district. The survey…

This study investigated initial implementation processes of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in public and private schools in a single Louisiana district. Results suggested participants' high level of concern in many aspects of the implementation of the CCSS in public schools related to timeline and instability of curriculum decisions, which…

This study explored the implementation process of five teachers and two administrators of the Common Core State Standards in Reading. This ethnographic case study investigates one groups' attitudes and instructional practices. The researcher focused on three questions in order to provide an indepth analysis of the data collected. These questions…

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) were adopted by most states by 2010. Yet, many teachers still lack confidence in their ability to integrate these standards into their classroom instruction and this uncertainty undermines their effectiveness. This article presents findings from a study of a fourth grade literacy curriculum informed by the…

The article examines the results of two quasi-experimental studies of the implementation and impact of the Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC), an intervention designed to support secondary teachers' transition to Common Core State Standards in English language arts. The first study examines LDC implementation by eighth-grade social studies and…

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…

The authors of this article collaborated with fourth-grade teachers from two schools to support implementation of a research-based fraction and decimal curriculum (Rational Number Project: Fraction Operations and Initial Decimal Ideas). Through this study, they identified five indicators of rich conceptual understanding of decimals, which are…