The new Common Core State Standards, initially adopted by 46 states, are poised to remake the business of schooling in the United States. While the education initiative started with a wealth of bipartisan goodwill, it has now engendered confusion and controversy, and a handful of states have dropped out or scaled back their participation. What will the new expectations really mean for how teachers teach, and students learn? And will states – and the public – have the patience to ride out the bumpy road of implementation?
The Hechinger Report and the Education Writers Association teamed up for a National Reporting Project on the Common Core to examine these questions. We sent reporters to seven states, where they visited classrooms and teacher trainings, spoke with education leaders, principals, teachers and students, and followed the money to see how districts are financing the switch to new standards. The stories were published by local newspapers and websites across the country. We’ve also collected them here, along with additional information about the content of the new standards and the debates surrounding them.
Check out the list of news outlets that participated in the project.
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