This annotated bibliography is reformatted and customized by the Center for Positive Practices. Some of the authors featured on this page include Alison K. Billman, Paul E. Peterson, Ashley Kulbacki, Patricia A. Maunsell, Hal A. Lawson, Kristen Campbell Wilcox, Amber Simpson, Paula Maccini, Wendy Stephens, and Sandra M. Linder.
(2014). An Examination of Mathematics Professional Development Opportunities in Early Childhood Settings, Early Childhood Education Journal. This study investigates how and to what extent preservice and inservice early childhood educators are being prepared to develop mathematics skills and processes in young children, age birth to five, in one southeastern state in the United States. Utilizing a multi-phase mixed methods study and a follow-up survey central to the research question, findings from this study indicate that professional development in mathematics is inadequate. Few of the professional development opportunities focus on specific mathematical content areas or address the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics. In addition, the majority of the professional development opportunities are short, hourly sessions with little to no follow-up. Implications of the results and suggestions for future research are discussed. [More] Descriptors: Mathematics Instruction, Preschool Teachers, Early Childhood Education, Mathematics Skills
(2014). Using Assessment to Improve Early Elementary Students' Knowledge and Skills for Comprehending Informational Text, Journal of Applied School Psychology. Although assessment of student progress in word reading skills is common, students' knowledge and skills for comprehending informational text are rarely assessed. Despite research indicating the need for instruction in this area and a growing national understanding of its importance that is reflected in the Common Core State Standards, few formative assessment tools are readily available and used to assess informational text comprehension. In this study, teachers who were randomly assigned to an experimental group were provided with ongoing professional development on how to administer and interpret the newly developed Concepts of Comprehension Assessment in their classrooms. The assessment was designed to help assess and consequently encourage instructional attention to students' skills for comprehending informational text. Those students in the experimental group showed greater growth on the Concepts of Comprehension Assessment and on a writing task. [More] Descriptors: Elementary School Students, Reading Comprehension, Reading Skills, Student Improvement
(2014). Testing under the Microscope: How Common Core-Aligned Assessments Place Demands on Time, Technology, and Connectivity, Knowledge Quest. School librarians and other specialists should take note of the new wave of computer-based assessments required by the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), testing that is only now beginning to get off the ground. The new testing necessitates that districts possess the right hardware, install the requisite software, and, in some cases, create secure dedicated networks. In Alabama, the ACT Quality Core product has been designated as aligned with the CCSS-based standards. That test demands machines configured with locked down browsers. Last year was the first year the new assessments were deployed. The author describes the experience that the school she works at went through in preparing for the new assessments. The author also shares her opinions on what lies ahead and how these assessments will affect students. [More] Descriptors: State Standards, Alignment (Education), School Libraries, Librarians
(2014). Communication Is Key to Common Core, Phi Delta Kappan. States, districts, and schools must work to develop effective implementation and communications plans around the Common Core State Standards and aligned assessments. The Education Trust commissioned research on the communication of changes to state assessments in the recent past and lessons learned from that effort identify key elements of an effective and strategic communication plan and many replicable strategies to support a smooth transition to the new assessments. They include: Take a big-tent approach–include all stakeholders from the beginning and develop genuine relationships; be sure to talk and listen; focus on internal communications and consider everyone a messenger; and don't reinvent the wheel–and using existing communications methods and structures. [More] Descriptors: Academic Standards, State Standards, Educational Assessment, Stakeholders
(2014). Navagating the Common Core, Education Next. This article presents a debate over the Common Core State Standards Initiative as it has rocketed to the forefront of education policy discussions around the country. The author contends that there is value in having clear cross state standards that will clarify the new online and blended learning that the growing use of technology has provided for today's students. Common expectations for all students is not a new concept. Thomas Jefferson presented a set of standards in 1818. He said that every student should be taught the skills and knowledge necessary to transact his own business, improve his morals and faculties, understand his duty to his neighbors and country, and hold elected officials accountable. This article echoes that basic set of common knowledge that is essential to our economy, democracy, and society. [More] Descriptors: State Standards, Academic Standards, Educational Policy, Electronic Learning
(2014). Teaching under Policy Cascades: Common Core and Literacy Instruction, Journal of Language and Literacy Education. Educational policies and initiatives significantly influence instruction in classrooms across the nation. This article presents data from a larger critical ethnographic study in an urban school in the United States during the school's first year implementing the Common Core State Standards. In this article, the author shares data from three teachers. The findings indicate a significant reliance of teachers on outside factors–in this case, the Common Core Standards and related Publishers' Criteria–for planning and instruction in literacy. The teachers' own professional knowledge base became eroded in the process of "policy cascades," and as a result, the teachers developed a learned dependency on outside influences for instructional decision making in the classroom. [More] Descriptors: State Standards, Academic Standards, Ethnography, Urban Schools
(2016). After Common Core, States Set Rigorous Standards, Education Next. In spite of Tea Party criticism, union skepticism, and anti-testing outcries, the campaign to implement Common Core State Standards (otherwise known as Common Core) has achieved phenomenal success in statehouses across the country. Since 2011, 45 states have raised their standards for student proficiency in reading and math, with the greatest gains occurring between 2013 and 2015. Most states set only mediocre expectations for students for nearly 10 years after the passage of the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Now, in the wake of the Common Core campaign, a majority of states have made a dramatic move forward. If Common Core works as its proponents expect, higher proficiency standards could propel schools to achieve at more impressive levels and thus raise the nation's ranking on international tests. Of course, it is imperative that parents, teachers, administrators, and policymakers recognize the low levels of student proficiency now being identified in most states as a serious warning that action is needed. Otherwise, raising the proficiency bars will be for naught. Still, it is a hopeful sign that standards have moved in the right direction. If student performance shifts upward in tandem, it will signal a long awaited enhancement in the quality of American schools. [More] Descriptors: Common Core State Standards, Accountability, Program Effectiveness, Success
(2014). Try It Again, Uncle Sam: The 46th Annual PDK/Gallup Poll of the Public's Attitudes toward the Public Schools. [Part I], Phi Delta Kappan. The 46th Annual PDK/Gallup Poll of the Public's Attitudes toward the Public Schools reveals that Americans say they know a lot more this year about the Common Core State Standards than they indicated a year ago, and they like it a lot less. Americans also say local school boards should have the greatest influence in deciding what is taught in the public schools. Americans support public charter schools, particularly when they're described as schools that can operate independently and free of regulations. Americans don't believe standardized tests help teachers know what to teach. Americans continue to assign higher grades to their local schools but far lower grades to the nation's schools in general. Americans gave the President significantly lower grades on his performance in support of public schools. [For Part II, see EJ1042085.] [More] Descriptors: Public Schools, School Attitudes, Public Opinion, Academic Standards
(2011). Assessing the Quality of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics, Educational Researcher. The authors comment on Porter, McMaken, Hwang, and Yang's recent analysis of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics by critiquing their measures of the focus of the standards and the absence of an assessment of coherence. The authors then consider whether the standards are an improvement over most state mathematics standards by discussing whether the core mathematics ideas on which they focus are appropriate, whether individual standards are organized into coherent learning progressions, and whether their implementation is feasible. They question whether schools and districts currently have the capacity to support effective implementation, and they call for improvement-oriented investigations that can inform the development of effective implementation models. [More] Descriptors: Investigations, State Standards, Mathematics Achievement, Program Implementation
(2014). (De)constructing Student Engagement for Pre-Service Teacher Learning, Issues in Teacher Education. Learning to teach is a complex intellectual and adaptive performance act. Student engagement is the cornerstone of effective instruction. Current education reform policies, such as Common Core State Standards (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010) and Teacher Effectiveness (Rothstein & Mathis, 2013) prioritize the importance of educators developing K-12 students' intellectual capacities through cognitively engaging tasks. To prepare effective teachers, teacher educators must foster pre-service teachers' abilities to cognitively engage students and increase students' academic achievement. In this article, the authors highlight the importance of student engagement by describing promising practices in one teacher education program: (1) clearly identifying the role that student engagement plays in the classroom; (2) creating structures for teacher educators to observe and support student engagement; and (3) exploring what student engagement looks like from a pre-service teacher's perspective. [More] Descriptors: Preservice Teacher Education, Preservice Teachers, Student Participation, Educational Practices
(2014). Connecting the "Missing Words" to the Common Core, Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School. This article describes how a sixth-grade teacher's "missing word" task uncovered higher-level thinking and engaged her students in the Standards for Mathematical Practice. The role and selection of the task promotes higher-level thinking and connects to the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics. The task required students to apply their knowledge of the concept of variability and distribution of a data set. This concept and data set are rooted in a familiar context for the sixth-grade students to engage in the Standards for Mathematical Practice. The teacher achieved the goal of having students learn mathematics through a rich learning experience that was rigorous, coherent, and meaningful. [More] Descriptors: State Standards, Task Analysis, Learning Experience, Teaching Methods
(2014). Idaho Adopted Higher Standards to Prepare All Students for College and Careers, Knowledge Quest. Two years ago the state officially chose to adopt the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) as Idaho's new Core Standards in mathematics and English language arts. For Idaho's students these standards are not only higher but also comparable with those in any other country in the world. These new standards will bring significant changes for Idaho students–and teachers–yet these changes are necessary to better prepare every child to be successful in life after high school. In this article, the author provides background on why Idaho chose the CCSS and how they adopted it. Three foreseen benefits of the adoption of the CCSS to the English language arts standards in reading and writing as well as three benefits to mathematics are described. [More] Descriptors: State Standards, Developmental Studies Programs, Adoption (Ideas), Background
(2014). Teaching Mathematics to Secondary Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders: Challenges and Practical Suggestions for Teachers, Preventing School Failure. While the Common Core State Standards and state learning standards guide teachers in what mathematical content knowledge should be addressed as well as the processes and proficiencies necessary for developing mathematical competence, several student- and teacher-related factors may hinder student access to the general education curriculum for secondary students with emotional and behavioral disorders. Consequently, secondary students with emotional and behavioral disorders often fail to receive equitable, high-quality mathematics instruction that is age-appropriate. The authors identified the challenges associated with teaching mathematics to secondary students with emotional and behavioral disorders and provided practical suggestions, on the basis of the limited existing research base, to help special educators understand how to teach mathematics to secondary students with emotional and behavioral disorders. [More] Descriptors: Secondary School Students, Secondary School Mathematics, Mathematics Instruction, Behavior Disorders
(2011). Strong Support, Low Awareness: Public Perception of the Common Core State Standards. In June 2010, the final Common Core State Standards (CCSS)–K-12 standards in mathematics and English language arts/literacy developed through a multi-state initiative–were released. Since then, 45 states and Washington DC have chosen to adopt the new standards as their own. Implementation efforts are underway in most of these states, providing an important foundation for transforming education and making college and career readiness a reality for all students. Despite the widespread adoption of the standards–which will directly impact the over 42 million students in K-12 public schools across 45 states and the 2.7 million educators teaching in those schools–it has been unclear what, if anything, the public knows and thinks about the CCSS and related reforms. To explore the public's awareness of and support for the new Common Core State Standards and aligned common assessments Achieve commissioned a national poll in August 2011. Findings include: (1) Generally, public education is considered to be a very or extremely important issue to voters across the board. However, only about one in ten voters–and educators–believe public education is working pretty well right now; (2) There is strong support among voters and teachers for common standards. The support is strong regardless of age, education level, race, ethnicity or party affiliation; (3) The Common Core State Standards are in the early stages of implementation and awareness among the general public is very low. Awareness among teachers is significantly higher; (4) Among voters who are aware of the Common Core State Standards, there is a mixed impression of the CCSS, with essentially the same percentage having a favorable and unfavorable view. Among teachers who are aware of the Common Core, there is generally a more favorable view; and (5) There is strong support for common assessments among states, but also disagreement as to how the results of the assessments should be used. The general public strongly supports using the results for a full range of accountability purposes, while teachers are more skeptical of using test results for such purposes. [More] Descriptors: Elementary Secondary Education, State Standards, Educational Change, Public Education
(2016). The Role of District Office Leaders in the Adoption and Implementation of the Common Core State Standards in Elementary Schools, Educational Administration Quarterly. Purpose: This multiple case study investigated district leaders' orientations and strategies as their elementary schools proceeded with state-mandated implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). We identified differences between schools achieving above-predicted outcomes on state CCSS assessments ("odds-beaters") and schools achieving predicted outcomes ("typical performers"). Theory: The implementation of multiple race-to-the-top (RTTT) innovations recommends a theoretical hybrid consisting of policy implementation theory, leadership theory, organizational change theory, and organizational learning theory, especially learning-focused leadership strategies such as bridging, brokering, and buffering strategies for crafting coherence across organizational boundaries. Research Methods: This mixed methods study used statistical regressions for sampling and interviews to collect data. Inductive and deductive methods were used to identify themes that might differentiate the two kinds of sample schools and their district leaders. Findings: District leaders for odds-beating schools anticipated the state's policy innovations and developed organizational capacity for RTTT innovation implementation. Leaders permitted CCSS adaptations and they employed bridging, brokering, and buffering strategies to craft coherence and facilitate organizational learning and improvement. Conclusions: Odds-beating district leaders played pivotal roles in developing organizational readiness and implementation capacity. Whereas the RTTT agenda in typical districts amounted to a second-order, disruptive change, the odds-beating leaders in this study were instrumental in making this same agenda a first-order change. [More] Descriptors: Common Core State Standards, Case Studies, Elementary Schools, Program Implementation