Common Core State Standards

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“The Common Core State Standards provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, so teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them. The standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers. With American students fully prepared for the future, our communities will be best positioned to compete successfully in the global economy.” 

—Common Core State Standards Initiative

For decades, the United States maintained various academic quality standards among states, resulting in wide disparities in student proficiency as measured under the No Child Left Behind Act and highlighted by National Assessment of Education Progress scores.

The adoption of the Common Core State Standards by more than 40 states might be the first step toward meaningful and comprehensive comparisons of student performance and achievement among states. Under these new standards, educators across the country will work under the same guidelines for what students need to know and are expected to do.

ASCD is an endorsing partner of the Common Core initiative. The newer, higher standards will require schools and communities to better and more comprehensively support student learning if students are to meet these enhanced expectations.

For the Common Core standards to succeed and have maximum effect, they also need to be part of a well-rounded, whole child approach to education that ensures students are healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged.

Read More About the Common Core State Standards

• ASCD and the Common Core Policy Timeline
• Common Core Standards Adoption by State
• ASCD's Common Core State Standards Report (PDF)
• The Common Core State Standards Initiative (PDF)
• Common Core State Standards and the Whole Child (PDF)
• Common Core Assessment Consortia membership by state
• ASCD Policy Points, May 2014: Common Core Talking Points (PDF)
• ASCD Policy Points, October 2013: Common Core State Standards (PDF)

Articles 

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Core Connection

Core Connection was an e-mail newsletter published every two weeks.

• View the archives

Educational Leadership

• Tackling Informational Text (November 2013) (theme Issue)
• Art and Science of Teaching / Cognitive Verbs and the Common Core (September 2013)
• Growing Your Garden of Complex Texts (June 2013)
• How to Survive Education Reform Without Losing Your Job, Your Ideals, or Your Mind (June 2013)
• New Literacies and the Common Core (March 2013)
• The Uncommon Core (February 2013)
• Common Core: Now What? (December 2012/January 2013) (theme issue)
• A Common Core of Readiness (April 2012)
• Commentary / Where's Literature in the Common Core? (April 2012)
• What Students Really Need to Learn (March 2011)
• Building on the Common Core (March 2011)
• Are National Standards the Right Move? (April 2010)

Education Update

• More than Words: Developing Core Speaking and Listening Skills (December 2013)
• Making Mathematicians: Schools Implement New Math Standards (April 2013)
• It's Complicated: Common Core State Standards Focus on Text Complexity (April 2012)

ASCD Express

• Common Core: Now What? (December 6, 2012) (theme issue)
• On the Road to Common Core State Standards (July 19, 2012) (theme issue)

Policy Priorities

• The Promise and Realities of Next-Generation Assessments (2013)

Policy Points

• Common Core State Standards: Myths and Facts (October 2013)

Is It Good for the Kids?

• Crucial Conversations About the Common Core (August 2013)
• Common Core at a Crossroads (May 2011)
• Maximizing the Impact of the Common Core (July 2010)

Books 

See free sample chapters, study guides, and author interviews.

• Teaching the Critical Vocabulary of the Common Core: 55 Words That Make or Break Student Understanding (2013)
• Common Core Standards for Middle School Mathematics: A Quick-Start Guide (2013)
• Common Core Standards for Elementary Grades K–2 Math and English Language Arts: A Quick-Start Guide (2013)
• Common Core Standards for Elementary Grades 3–5 Math & English Language Arts: A Quick-Start Guide (2013)
• Common Core Standards for High School Mathematics: A Quick-Start Guide (2012)
• Common Core Standards for Middle School English Language Arts: A Quick-Start Guide (2012)
• Common Core Standards for High School English Language Arts: A Quick-Start Guide (2012)
• The Core Six: Essential Strategies for Achieving Excellence with the Common Core (2012)
• Understanding Common Core State Standards (2011)

Webinars 

• Andrew Miller: Virtual Learning Network: English Language Arts Series (Recorded December 2013 - March 2015)
• Nanci Smith: Virtual Learning Network: Mathematics Series (Recorded December 2013 – March 2015)
• Jason Flom: Virtual Learning Network: Science Series (Recorded December 2013 – March 2015)
• Mark Barnes and Krista Rundell: Virtual Learning Network: Social Studies Series (Recorded December 2013 – March 2015)
• Andrew Miller: Technology Integration to Meet the Needs of the Common Core (June 9, 2014)
• Various experts and topics: Get to the Core: Common Core Webinar Series (Recorded November 2011 - August 2013)

Online Learning 

PD In Focus^®

In the PD In Focus Common Core channel, explore how the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) approach literacy and Mathematics in new and important ways. Through video examples, you’ll learn practical ways to put CCSS to work in classrooms.

PD Online^® Courses

• Assessment: Promoting Assessment for Learning
• Differentiated Instruction: Using Assessment Effectively
• Including Students with Disabilities in the Common Core
• Understanding the Common Core Writing Standards: Grades K–5
• Understanding the Common Core Writing Standards: Grades 6–12
• Common Core Mathematics: Grades K–5
• Common Core Mathematics: Grades 6–8
• Common Core Mathematics: Grades 9–12
• Common Core and Literacy Strategies: Science
• Common Core and Literacy Strategies: History/Social Studies
• Common Core and Literacy Strategies: English Language Arts
• Common Core and Literacy Strategies: Mathematics
• Common Core Literacy Foundations: Grades K–2
• The Common Core Standards and the Understanding by Design Framework: English Language Arts
• The Common Core Standards and the Understanding by Design Framework: Mathematics
• The Core Six: Teaching with the Common Core State Standards in Mind
• Crafting Curriculum: Using Standards
• English Language Learners and the Common Core State Standards
• Formative Assessment and the Common Core Standards: English Language Arts/Literacy
• Formative Assessment and the Common Core Standards: Mathematics
• Leadership: Implementing the Common Core State Standards
• Text Complexity: Understanding the Literacy Shifts in the Common Core Standards (Grades 6–12)

Videos 

You can watch sample clips of some of the videos.

• The Common Core Insider: Elementary And Middle School Math DVD (2013)
• Leading With Vision: 6 Steps To Implementing The Common Core State Standards DVD (2012)
• Unpacking the Common Core Standards Using the UbD Framework DVD (2012)

Experts & Events

ASCD Faculty members are available for on-site capacity-building professional development on Common Core Standards. ASCD can design a precise professional development plan, organized around our field-tested solutions, with a focus on the education foundations that make sense for you.

Learn more about ASCD Professional Learning Services

ASCD Conferences, One-, Two-, and Three-Day Institutes, and other special events frequently feature sessions about Common Core Standards.

Learn more about ASCD Conferences and Events