These revised Social Studies standards align with the College, Career, and Civic Readiness (C3) standards developed in partnership with the National Council for the Social Studies. In addition, the current version of the Learning Standards incorporates the Common Core State Standards and other revisions recommended by Washington's statewide cadre…

The present qualitative study used socio-cultural theory (Wertsch, 1998), pedagogical content knowledge (Shulman, 1987), and reflective practice (Schon, 1983) to examine how social studies teachers define and develop inquiry questions. Existing literature reflects a long tradition of equating inquiry with high quality social studies instruction…

The creators and supporters of the Common Core State Standards claim that the Standards require greater emphasis on higher-order thinking than previous state standards in mathematics and English language arts. We used a qualitative case study design with content analysis methods to test the claim. We compared the levels of thinking required by the…

This paper analyzes teacher responses to a distinctive reform that sought to implement alignment between high schools and colleges. A survey of 225 teachers is used to examine teachers' perceptions of the reform's effectiveness, further resources needed, and how perceptions changed over time. The reform was perceived as effective for college-bound…

The Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) have exerted enormous pressure on every participant in a child's education. Students are struggling to meet new standards for mathematics learning, and parents are struggling to understand how to help them. Teachers are growing in their capacity to develop new mathematical competencies, and…

Mathematical modeling, in which students use mathematics to explain or interpret physical, social, or scientific phenomena, is an essential component of the high school curriculum. The Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) classify modeling as a K-12 standard for mathematical practice and as a conceptual category for high school…

This paper analyzes teacher responses to a distinctive reform that sought to ­implement alignment between high schools and colleges. A survey of 225 teachers is used to examine teachers' perceptions of the reform's effectiveness, further resources needed, and how perceptions changed over time. The reform was perceived as effective for…

This Framework builds upon the foundation of the 2010 Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for Mathematics as well as versions of the Massachusetts Mathematics Framework published since 1995. The current Framework incorporates improvements suggested by Massachusetts educators after six years of experience in implementing the 2010 standards in their…

This content analysis explored how Civics and Government textbooks and the Virginia Standards of Learning for Civics and Government courses reflect citizenship outcomes, specifically deconstructing the unique needs of marginalized students. The coding frame was constructed by using themes and categories from previous literature, specifically…

Learning to write is critical in today's world, yet many students are not developing the writing abilities they need to use writing as a powerful tool for learning and for showing what they know. Research indicates that failure to acquire strong writing abilities restricts opportunities for both post-secondary education and employment. This…

The Southeast Comprehensive Center (SECC) at the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL), an affiliate of American Institutes for Research (AIR), publishes a biannual update of college- and career-readiness state standards and assessment resources. It is designed to assist staff in state education agencies (SEAs) and other educators in…

Researchers at NIET and elsewhere have studied the effectiveness of "TAP: The System for Teacher and Student Advancement" (TAP) in raising student achievement, improving the quality of instruction and increasing the ability of high-need schools to recruit, retain and support effective teachers. This document describes some of the most…

Secondary school principals face no shortage of issues and challenges when it comes to ensuring that their teachers and students are ready for the Common Core State Standards. With so many issues competing for scarce time and resources, it is understandable that for many school leaders, the needs of high-ability and high-potential students are not…

This qualitative study was conducted for the purpose of determining whether a district mathematics curriculum leader's social network advanced the implementation of the high school mathematics Common Core State Standards (CCSS) (CCSSI, 2012c). The qualitative data was collected through an interview, a hand-drawn network map, observations, and…

This article reviews the political and empirical record within music education surrounding the Goals 2000: Educate America Act and reports a new study evaluating the effects of the law on music and arts education policies in U.S. high schools. School-level data (N = 670 schools) from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 and the…