Curriculum mapping is a comparability method that facilitates comparisons of content within multiple settings (usually multiple jurisdictions or specifications) and enables claims to be made about those curriculums/jurisdictions. Although curriculum maps have been published, there is little academic literature about the process of constructing and…

Prior to the 2010 release of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM), the curricular landscape in the United States consisted of an assortment of individual state standards that as a collection reflected little consensus as to the grade placement of specific mathematical content. As CCSSM has now been used as the foundation for…

This paper accepts that the OECD's PISA has become influential in policy terms globally, but analyses the ways that the main PISA and PISA for Schools tests are positioned differently in Australia and the USA because of contrasting educational federalisms in the two nations. Our argument is that while PISA is undoubtedly influential, its effects…

Purpose: This study aims to draw from overlapping scholarship in critical policy studies and governmentality studies to examine how recent standards-based education policies mark a pivotal shift in the aims and governance of English education. Design/methodology/approach: The author traces this shift through a comparative analysis of the past two…

In July 2010, the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) voted to adopt Common Core's standards in English language arts (ELA) and mathematics in place of the state's own standards in these two subjects. The vote was based largely on recommendations by Commissioner of Education Mitchell Chester and then Secretary of…

In the Winter 2013 edition of the "Texas Journal of Literacy Education," we announced that a special task force from the TALE board would be sharing the common ground among the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), Common Core State Standards (CCSS), and the College and Career Readiness Standards (CCRS). In that first edition, we…

In a 2012 paper for the Center for American Progress, "The State of Evaluation Reform," Patrick McGuinn (Drew University) identified the opportunities and challenges facing education agencies in Race to the Top (RTTT) grant-winning states as they prepared for the implementation of new teacher evaluation systems. The 2012 study undertook…

Last year the United States unveiled the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in English and Mathematics for grades K-12. In particular, the authors included two possible sequences of 8-12 mathematics courses that would fulfill the standards. Most notably, the courses titled "3a" and "3b" in these two sequences have become…

Many articles and reports have reviewed, researched, and commented on international assessments from the perspective of exploring what is relevant for the United States' education systems. Researchers make claims about whether the top-performing systems have transferable practices or policies that could be applied to the United States. However,…