Special Report
Special Report

Math, Literacy, & Common Standards

Mapping out the landscape of academic content and instruction in the common-core era
April 25, 2012
Nearly every state has signed on to use the Common Core State Standards as a framework for teaching English/language arts and mathematics to students. Translating them for the classroom, however, requires schools, teachers, and students to change the way they approach teaching and learning. This report examines the progress some states have made in implementing the standards, what preparations need to be undertaken, and the challenges that policymakers and educators face in achieving the goals of the standards.
  • Teaching Advocates Worry Implementation Could Derail Common Core
    Whether the standards succeed will depend largely on how well they are translated from expectations to classroom instruction, advocates say.
    Catherine Gewertz, April 23, 2012
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    11 min read
    Arnett Elementary 2nd grader Jalynn Miller explains a subtraction problem to Makaya Sims, left, while Ms. Ball and David Butler observe. Teachers at the School in the Erlanger-Elsmere district are asking students to help design their "learning targets."
    Arnett Elementary 2nd grader Jalynn Miller explains a subtraction problem to Makaya Sims, left, while Ms. Ball and David Butler observe. Teachers at the School in the Erlanger-Elsmere district are asking students to help design their "learning targets."
    Pat McDonogh for Education Week
    Reading & Literacy Reading on Science, Social Studies Teachers' Agendas
    To meet expectations of the common standards, Kentucky’s social studies and science teachers are teaching reading strategies.
    Catherine Gewertz, April 23, 2012
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    12 min read
    Teacher Nena Hupp reads the book 1+1=5 and Other Unlikely Additions to children in her kindergarten class at Worthington Elementary.
    Teacher Nena Hupp reads the book <i>1+1=5 and Other Unlikely Additions</i> to children in her kindergarten class at Worthington Elementary.
    Stephen Voss for Education Week
    Teaching Big Shifts Ahead for Math Instruction
    The standards will change the grade levels at which some content is introduced, push aside other topics, and ask students to show their understanding.
    April 23, 2012
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    12 min read
    Special Education Standards Open the Door for Best Practices From Special Ed.
    As schools rewrite curricula, the timing is right for UDL, RTI, according to experts.
    April 23, 2012
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    8 min read
    Kevin Marroquin, 9, left, who is from Honduras, looks around the ELL classroom while his classmate Deyvin Santos, also 9 and from Guatemala, gets help from their teacher, Laurinda Flores.
    Kevin Marroquin, 9, left, who is from Honduras, looks around the ELL classroom while his classmate Deyvin Santos, also 9 and from Guatemala, gets help from their teacher, Laurinda Flores.
    Andrew Innerarity for Education Week
    Federal Language Demands to Grow for ELLs Under New Standards
    English-learners will have to go beyond the fundamentals and master "academic language," experts say.
    Lesli A. Maxwell, April 23, 2012
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    10 min read
    Gretchen Highfield gives her 3rd graders instructions for their reading lesson at Robert Kerr Elementary School in Duran, Mich. The School was an early adopter of the common-core standards.
    Gretchen Highfield gives her 3rd graders instructions for their reading lesson at Robert Kerr Elementary School in Duran, Mich. The School was an early adopter of the common-core standards.
    Brian Widdis for Education Week
    Teaching Concern Abounds Over Teachers' Preparedness for Standards
    Some districts have prepared their teachers on the new instructional approaches for the common core; others have done little.
    Stephen Sawchuk, April 23, 2012
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    12 min read
    Education Common Standards Adoption and Assessments
    This infographic follows the progression of the recent common-standards movement.
    April 23, 2012