Common Core
Education news, analysis, and opinion about the Common Core State Standards, a set of academic standards for teaching English and mathematics in K-12 schools.
See also: Standards
The Common Core Explained
With all the developments and debate around common standards, here are the resources you'll need to get up to speed.
Standards & Accountability
Explainer
What’s the Purpose of Standards in Education? An Explainer
What are standards? Why are they important? What's the Common Core? Do standards improve student achievement? Our explainer has the answers.
Mathematics
Project
Are Students Getting All the Math They Need to Succeed?
Advocates say reforms in math teaching are pushing out statistics and geometry and driving a drop in students' math scores.
Standards & Accountability
The Architects of the Standards Movement Say They Missed a Big Piece
Decisions about materials and methods can lead to big variances in the quality of instruction that children receive.
Standards & Accountability
Opinion
Educators Weigh In on Implementing the Common Core, Even Now
Though outlawed in some states, the standards still offer a strong foundation for English, math, and other subjects.
Mathematics
Opinion
How Reflexive Partisanship Has Undermined Math Education
Conflict over how math is taught is not new. An educator recalls the many disputes since the 1990s.
Standards & Accountability
Opinion
Did I Accurately Guess the Fate of the Common Core? You Be the Judge
In 2012, I imagined what the Common Core would be like in a decade. Now, readers can compare this imagined “future” to reality.
Teaching
Opinion
Q&A Collections: Implementing the Common Core
Ten years of posts sharing lots of advice and experiences related to applying the Common Core State Standards.
Equity & Diversity
Why the Critical Race Theory Fight Is Harder for Educators Than the Common Core Battle
Educators and advocates see clear parallels—and sharp differences—between the politically charged disputes with schools at the center.
Standards & Accountability
Opinion
How the Failure of the Common Core Looked From the Ground
Steve Peha shares insights from his on-site professional-development work about why the common core failed, in a guest letter to Rick Hess.
Standards & Accountability
Opinion
Common Core Is a Meal Kit, Not a Nothingburger
Caroline Damon argues Rick Hess and Tom Loveless sold the common core short, claiming the issue was a matter of high-quality implementation.
Standards & Accountability
How New Common Core Research Connects to Biden's Plans for Children and Families
A study of national test scores indicate the early phase of the Common Core State Standards did not help disadvantaged students.
Standards & Accountability
Opinion
After All That Commotion, Was the Common Core a Big Nothingburger?
The Common Core State Standards may not have had an impact on student outcomes, but they did make school improvement tougher and more ideological.
Standards & Accountability
Fact Check: Trump Administration Didn't 'Get Rid' of Common Core
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos implied at the Conservative Political Action Conference that President Donald Trump has fulfilled a pledge to "get rid of" the Common Core State Standards. That's not true.
Standards & Accountability
People Keep on Saying They're Killing the Common Core. How Dead Is It?
Florida's governor declares a standards overhaul would "remove all vestiges" of the common core. But it remains unclear how much is really changing under the Florida Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking.