Purpose: In the last 5 years, many states have introduced science of reading (SOR) reforms that require increased attention to foundational skills instruction in grades K-3. The fast spread of these policies raises questions about the mechanisms that facilitated their rapid adoption. The purpose of this article is to examine how SOR discourses…

On Constitution Day 2013, the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) published the "College, Career and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards." The document was written by a team of academics with specialties in social studies education and its disciplines in consultation with state education agencies,…

This report offers an analysis of the English language arts (ELA)/literacy and mathematics standards of the 24 states that have reviewed and revised these standards after initially adopting the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). The report found most states kept their standards rigorous and maintained college- and career-ready expectations for…

Although U.S. schools that provide bilingual education typically must negotiate English-only policies and pressures to sustain their programming over time, little is known about what this entails at the individual school level. Our research examines in detail how the leaders of an elementary school in New York City with a Spanish-English…

All over the world, schools are tasked with the objective of preparing young adults to be contributing members of society. Perhaps no other content area is as important in this task than the field of social studies. Unfortunately, social studies continue to be a marginalized field in the United States. This article seeks to explore the dynamics of…

In this article, the authors highlight their ongoing efforts to position the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) as a living document that can be read again and again with an eye toward all sorts of literacy teaching and learning in classrooms. They explore how teachers can begin to think and speak of themselves as authors of the CCSS and thus…

The noise in generating an agreed upon definition of instructional leadership that extends beyond theory to the practice of principals has been almost deafening in the last few decades. Many emphasize the need for the role of the principal to adapt to meet the demands of leadership that maximizes student achievement, but lack the specificity to…

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explain how the Common Core State Standards may have influenced teachers' practices and philosophies regarding literacy instruction. Conducted in five kindergarten through second-grade classrooms within one elementary school, this research study collected semi-structured interviews, classroom…

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) require a major shift in instructional practices among teachers. Such changes cause much uncertainty as teachers' roles and identities begin to change. Major school reform creates difficulty for school leaders who must develop teacher support and dedication to 'top-down' reform initiatives in their…

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 purpose of our study was to examine elementary literacy teachers' perceptions of their preparedness to implement the ELA CCSS [English Language Arts Common Core State Standards]. We defined preparedness across three dimensions: teachers' perceived levels of knowledge of the standards and its components; efficacy to implement changes; and…

A subcommittee of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Executive Committee wrote the "NCTE Beliefs about the Teaching of Writing" in 2004. In over a decade since, the everyday experience of writing in people's lives has expanded dramatically. Increasingly, handheld devices are important instruments for people's writing,…

This resource is part of a series produced by the Center for Standards and Assessment Implementation (CSAI) to assist teachers and those who support teachers to plan teaching and learning from College and Career Ready Standards (CCRS) for all students, including students with disabilities, English learners, academically at-risk students, students…

This resource is part of a series produced by the Center for Standards and Assessment Implementation (CSAI) to assist teachers and those who support teachers to plan teaching and learning from College and Career Ready Standards (CCRS) for all students, including students with disabilities, English learners, academically at-risk students, students…