This annotated bibliography is reformatted and customized by the Center for Positive Practices. Some of the authors featured on this page include Kathleen Gormley, Joshua Kenna, Vera Jacobson-Lundeberg, Joy Bronston Schackow, Regional Educational Laboratory Mid-Atlantic, Kevin G. Welner, Myra Milam, Lauren Artzi, Jennifer Wall, and Darrian Bruce.
(2016). Joint Inquiry: Teachers' Collective Learning about the Common Core in High-Poverty Urban Schools, American Educational Research Journal. Recent research on the relationship between standards and teachers' practice suggests that teachers are unlikely to make changes to practice without extensive opportunities for learning about standards with colleagues. This article extends this line of research, using a comparative case study of three high-poverty urban schools to examine the nature of teachers' collaborative work around the Common Core State Standards and the conditions that support this work. It argues that collaborative practices that encourage joint examination of instruction and student learning against standards support teachers in noticing and attending to differences between their current practice and standards. In addition, it examines the role of teachers' instructional knowledge and principals' leadership in supporting teachers' collaboration around standards. [More] Descriptors: Academic Standards, Teaching Methods, Comparative Analysis, Case Studies
(2016). High Stakes Testing in the 21st Century: Implications for Students in Special Education, Journal of the American Academy of Special Education Professionals. 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 being implemented in the current 2014-2015 school year include embedded and locally provided accommodations for students with a documented need. For students with the most severe cognitive disabilities alternate assessments are available aligned with the CCSS. The implications of these assessments and the role they play in crucial factors pertaining to students in special education requires additional research. Specific areas for research should include how high-stakes tests can be useful in identifying specific needs, accommodations, and strategies for learning for students in special education, and the role test scores play in retention and dropout rates for this population. [More] Descriptors: High Stakes Tests, Special Education, Common Core State Standards, Testing Accommodations
(2016). Smart Money? Philanthropic and Federal Funding for the Common Core, Education Policy Analysis Archives. The Common Core State Standards Initiative seeks to prepare all students to graduate high school without remedial needs, to improve transparency across states' accountability systems, and to foster efficiencies in the development and distribution of educational resources. The reform was adopted in more than 40 states and has been described as state-led. We examined federal and philanthropic funding for the reform through a conceptual lens of resource dependence theory. Our document analyses surfaced eight pathways along which funding for the Common Core traveled into, through, and around the public education system. We consider clusters of pathways according to their purposes and the consequences of such clustering for the reform. We conclude by discussing benefits derived from this funding for different types of entities that grant and receive it. [More] Descriptors: Common Core State Standards, Federal Aid, Philanthropic Foundations, Private Financial Support
(2016). Competitive Debate as Competency-Based Learning: Civic Engagement and Next-Generation Assessment in the Era of the Common Core Learning Standards, Communication Education. As the adoption and execution of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) have steadily increased, the debate community is presented with an opportunity to be more forward thinking and sustainable through the translation to curriculum planning and next-generation assessment as a movement towards Performance-Based Assessments. This paper focuses on how these relate to the development of civic education and utilization of the CCSS through a competency-centric perspective on learning and the mastery of skills. Coaches, teachers, and judges in developing debate programs were interviewed, with an emphasis on those from the New¬ York area. We found that teachers who are not otherwise involved in the debate programs will confirm community and personal changes in debaters as an important part of debate's potential as an assessment tool. The implications of these and additional findings are discussed. [More] Descriptors: Competition, Debate, Competency Based Education, Civics
(2014). The Lost Opportunity of the Common Core State Standards, Phi Delta Kappan. This article offers a commentary on the Common Core State Standards, which were developed by a talented and well-resourced team, and are purported to be of higher quality than many former or existing state standards. However, according to this author, Common Core has become much more than the standards themselves; they are the foundational element to further entrenchment of a system that also includes new assessments, augmented accountability regimes, and marketplaces of new materials, testing supports, and professional development. It is almost impossible to disentangle the Common Core from the larger apparatus of high-stakes, standards-based testing and accountability policies that dominate American schooling. The Common Core effort is the equivalent of fixing and further developing a harmful apparatus. Standards can be beneficial elements of a high-functioning educational system; so can assessments. Many well-intentioned and smart people are working to advance the Common Core and make it successful, but unless and until politicians reverse course and focus on closing opportunity gaps, the Common Core will be part of the problem, and its potential benefits will never be realized. [More] Descriptors: Academic Standards, State Standards, Accountability, Educational Assessment
(2016). Algebra? There's an App for That: Florida Goes Online with Math Support for Teachers and Students, Journal of Staff Development. 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 in the way. To address those challenges, the University of Florida's Lastinger Center for Learning and Study Edge, an educational technology company, developed an online teaching and learning system for algebra teachers and students. This system, called Algebra Nation, launched throughout Florida in spring 2013. Funded by the Florida Legislature,the program partners with students, teachers, administrators, parents, political leaders, and local communities to develop and deliver personalized professional learning. [More] Descriptors: Mathematics Instruction, Algebra, Common Core State Standards, Mathematics Teachers
(2013). Common Core State Standards and Teacher Effectiveness. Q&A with Ross Wiener, Ph.D. REL Mid-Atlantic Teacher Effectiveness Webinar Series. In this REL Mid-Atlantic webinar, Dr. Ross Wiener, Vice President and Executive Director of the Education and Society Program, Aspen Institute, discussed strategies for integrating the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) into teacher effectiveness systems, including ways in which the CCSS can support professional growth and inform teacher evaluation systems. This Q&A addressed the questions participants had for Dr. Wiener following the webinar. The webinar recording and PowerPoint presentation are also available through hyperlinks in the document. [More] Descriptors: State Standards, Academic Standards, Teacher Effectiveness, Elementary Secondary Education
(2016). Reframing a Social Studies Methods Course: Preparing Elementary Teacher Candidates for the Common Core, Social Studies. The emphasis on disciplinary literacy skills embedded within the Common Core State Standards requires a shift in preparing teachers to explicitly address the craft of reading and writing within social studies instruction. As teacher educators, we think it is imperative to understand the ways in which our teacher candidates integrate literacy within their social studies instruction and strive to modify our own practices to support their needs. Using practitioner research, we share the instructional changes we made to better prepare teacher candidates to meet the standards, and we consider how our teacher candidates responded to those changes in their work. Our implications suggest research-based practices must be utilized in social studies methods courses while maintaining an emphasis on key historical thinking skills. Such practices include using essential questions to guide deeper thinking, integrating appropriately modified informational texts, developing skills in close reading, using graphic organizers, and emphasizing content integration. [More] Descriptors: Social Studies, Methods Courses, Preservice Teachers, Preservice Teacher Education
(2016). Pedagogical Implementation of 21st Century Skills, Educational Leadership and Administration: Teaching and Program Development. This paper examines students' perceptions of how intentionally taught 21st century skills have transformed their lives. Personal development education (PDE) encompasses interpersonal and interaction skills that are required for students to function and succeed in global-oriented 21st century colleges and careers. The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) is a reform movement bringing 21st century skills into the mainstream. Embedding 21st century skills such as communication and collaboration is necessary and timely, meeting the requirements of the CCSS English-language art's listening and speaking standards. This paper explores students' perceptions of how PDE influenced their ability to communicate more effectively and work collaboratively with a range of peers and others. Therefore, as the value of this education is recognized, this paper also offers practical implementation and application strategies for core curriculum. [More] Descriptors: Student Attitudes, Skill Development, Student Development, Interpersonal Competence
(2016). K-12 Postsecondary Alignment and School Accountability: Investigating High School Responses to California's Early Assessment Program, American Journal of Education. State K-12 assessments may soon include measures for college readiness, as California's already do. We seek to understand how California's Early Assessment Program (EAP, designed to assess high school juniors' college readiness in English and math) may have influenced overall school-level college readiness and state accountability outcomes. Using administrative data, we first examine variation in EAP participation across California's public high schools and what accounts for the variation in the early years of the program. Second, we ask whether different levels of EAP participation have influenced school outcomes. Finally, we ask whether the EAP has led to changes in schoolwide accountability measures by increasing eleventh-grade students' testing performance. We find that schools with higher participation in these aligned assessments witnessed small improvements on the state's primary accountability metric, but not through raising individual stakes for students. Results have important consequences for policymakers and education leaders designing and implementing Common Core State Standards with college-readiness assessments. [More] Descriptors: Elementary Secondary Education, Postsecondary Education, Alignment (Education), College Readiness
(2016). Apps-olutely Perfect! Apps to Support Common Core in the History/Social Studies Classroom, Social Studies. The inclusion of technology in the classroom is an increasingly important feature of effective instruction. The implementation of Common Core Standards in many states also requires teachers to consider new pedagogical strategies to support meaningful learning. This article explores the intersection between technology demands and curricular change by examining apps that can be used to support Common Core State Standards instruction in history/social studies. Specifically, the authors highlight several apps that they presented at a professional development workshop for six to twelve history/social studies teachers and discuss the teachers' feedback regarding the strengths and limitations of apps to support their instruction. Conclusions are drawn and recommendations for history/social studies teachers using apps in the classroom are provided. [More] Descriptors: Computer Oriented Programs, Common Core State Standards, History Instruction, Social Studies
(2016). Assessing Elementary Prospective Teachers' Mathematical Explanations after Engagement in Online Mentoring Modules, Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education (CITE Journal). Prospective elementary teachers at three universities engaged in online modules called the Virtual Field Experience, created by the Math Forum. The prospective teachers learned about problem solving and mentoring elementary students in composing solutions and explanations to nonroutine challenge problems. Finally, through an asynchronous online environment, the prospective teachers mentored elementary students. The researchers assessed the prospective teachers' solutions and explanations to problems at the beginning of the semester, at the middle of the semester after completing the training in mentoring, and again at the end of the semester after the mentoring was completed. The researchers observed improvements in the prospective teachers' abilities to write explanations to problems. Specifically, growth was seen in prospective teachers' communication of their explanations and their ability to construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2010, Standard for Mathematical Practice 3), and attend to precision (Standard for Mathematical Practice 6). [More] Descriptors: Elementary School Teachers, Preservice Teachers, Computer Simulation, Field Experience Programs
(2016). The Exclusion of the Creative Arts from Contracted School Curricula for Teaching the Common Core Standards, Journal for Learning Through the Arts. Many people would agree the creative arts are essential for children's education and development. For years, the creative arts were integrated into classroom learning units, especially in the language arts, by using drama, music, and drawing; this was considered good teaching. In this study we examined whether contracted curricula designed for teaching the Common Core State Standards integrated the creative arts into English language arts units for grades 3, 6, and 9. Using content analysis as the method, findings indicate the creative arts are largely absent from these curricula. We argue that school districts with limited financial resources will likely adopt the contracted curricula, and their children will be further disadvantaged because they will not have opportunities to learn with the creative arts when participating in lessons designed to teach the Common Core. [More] Descriptors: Common Core State Standards, Creative Activities, Art Education, Integrated Curriculum
(2016). Helping ELLs Meet Standards in English Language Arts and Science: An Intervention Focused on Academic Vocabulary, Reading & Writing Quarterly. The Common Core State Standards and the Next Generation Science Standards require students to understand and produce academic language that appears in informational text. Vocabulary is a critical domain of academic language, but English language learners (ELLs) come to the English Language Arts classroom with more limited English vocabulary than their English-proficient peers. This study compared 2 methods of vocabulary instruction: extended vocabulary instruction and embedded vocabulary instruction. Teachers implemented both approaches in the context of interactive shared reading, in which teachers and students read and discussed informational text. A total of 30 teachers in 18 schools and 509 third- and fourth-grade Spanish-speaking ELLs in a large, high-poverty district in the southwestern United States participated. Findings indicate that although extended instruction was the more effective approach, embedded instruction also helped ELLs acquire general academic and domain-specific vocabulary–an important finding, given that embedded instruction requires considerably less instructional time. [More] Descriptors: English Language Learners, Language Arts, English, Common Core State Standards
(2016). From Pre-Service to Teacher Leader: The Early Development of Teacher Leaders, Issues in Teacher Education. Public schools in the U.S. face ever increasing accountability measures as a result of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB 2001) and the adoption of the Common Core State Standards in the majority of states (Guskey, 2011). Linking teacher evaluation to student outcomes is yet another example of the pressure educators feel in the current U.S. educational climate. There is a growing body of research indicating that teaching is a key component of student success (Darling-Hammond, 2003; NCES, 2008). However, there are few studies that document the early development of teacher leaders in pre-service teacher preparation programs, including its benefits and challenges. The purpose of this study is to describe and analyze pre-service teachers' conceptions of teacher leadership and to document evidence of the skills and knowledge necessary for teacher leadership displayed by pre-service teachers. [More] Descriptors: Preservice Teachers, Teacher Leadership, Teacher Improvement, Knowledge Level