The Common Core is now front and center in classrooms across the country, and educators and policymakers are focused on getting implementation right. Education First has released a series of briefing papers and a short executive summary that offer guidance for how professional development needs to change to help educators Read more
For implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) to be successful, all educators need access to high quality and aligned instructional materials. Achieve launched the Educators Evaluating the Quality of Instructional Products (EQuIP) initiative to build the capacity of educators to evaluate and improve the quality of instructional materials Read more
A new poll by Education Next finds that the Common Core State Standards may have an image problem. The poll finds that the public likes the idea of shared standards – so long as the question doesn’t mention the phrase “Common Core.” Even Republicans, who express the most antipathy to Read more
The Center on Education Policy (CEP) at The George Washington University has released “A Compendium of Research on the Common Core Standards,” a compilation of over 60 research studies focused on a range of issues and topics related to the Common Core Standards. CEP has been a leading voice on Read more
EdReports.org, a new, independent nonprofit designed to improve K-12 education in the United States, will launch in winter 2014. EdReports.org will provide free, web-based reviews of instructional materials focusing on alignment to the Common Core and other indicators of high quality as recommended by educators, including usability, teacher support, and Read more
Achieve and Teaching Channel announced the launch of their new partnership by releasing three new videos that introduce and explore Achieve’s Evaluating Quality Instructional Products (EQuIP) initiative. The videos, which are publicly available for viewing on Teaching Channel’s website (www.teachingchannel.org), introduce the EQuIP Peer Review process and provide an in-depth Read more
The Common Core State Standards, which have been adopted by more than 40 states, are one of the most important reforms to American public education in decades. However, despite the many benefits of the Common Core, its bipartisan support, and the widespread adoption and integration into state plans to redesign Read more
The Center on Great Teachers and Leaders (at AIR) has a few new briefs out which are certainly worth the precious time of state education agencies. First is Preparing Teachers for the Common Core: Aligning Preparation Program Curricula Hear directly from state chiefs about how they support teacher preparation programs Read more
Recently, Lyndsey Layton of the Washington Post wrote a lengthy story concerning the role of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in fostering the Common Core State Standards. If you haven’t already seen the full article, you should read it (see below for the link). For now, we will summarize Read more
Andrew Smarick at EdNext keeps up with the buzz over Common Core as much as anyone, and his conclusion is that the Common Core is here to stay. Despite negative press in recent weeks and months with some states opting out of certain testing services, changing the name of the Read more
Like so much else in the world of teacher preparation, progress at readying new teachers for vastly different K-12 content expectations can probably best be described by one adjective: inconsistent. There are already a huge range of traditional and non-traditional teaching preparation/certification programs, each with its own particular view on Read more
States face a critical decision in the next year: how to assess student learning against new college- and career-ready standards. This decision has important ramifications, because testing and assessment have long had a powerful influence on instructional practice. Thus the assessment that states choose will affect teaching and learning in Read more
Michele McNeil of Education Week recently sat down with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan at his Washington D.C. office to ask him a wide range of questions about the goals of federal education policy in the time remaining before the next presidential election. Duncan stressed a few key issues: the Read more
With pilot tests being conducted and debates raging over Common Core-aligned assessments, new changes proposed for the SAT, and emerging plans for new science assessments, the landscape of educational assessments is changing rapidly. In this month’s issue brief, we have assembled summary information and links that will keep you on Read more
Misinformation about the Common Core State Standards Initiative abounds. Those who seek to correct this misinformation might glean some insights from recent public health research about the power of disinformation campaigns. Navigator Communications suggests a new approach to communicating with parents and the public about the standards, based on communications Read more
New studies of textbooks calling themselves “Common Core Aligned” suggest that schools and teachers should remember that a “buyer beware” policy is essential when it comes to purchasing quality textbooks. William Schmidt, a professor of statistics and education at Michigan State University in East Lansing and head of a research Read more