Implementing 'Core': A Look at Curriculum

Most analysts agree that the success or failure of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) hinges on implementation.  But the term has been ambiguous.  Advocates of CCSS talk about aligned curriculum, instructional shifts, challenging assessments that test critical thinking, and rigorous accountability systems that produce an accurate appraisal of whether students are on track to be college- or career-ready by the time they graduate from high school.  These descriptions are unsatisfying.  Heavy with flattering adjectives, they echo the confidence proponents have that CCSS will improve several important aspects of schooling.  But such confidence may be misplaced; for example, decades—if not centuries—of effort have been devoted to the perfection of instruction.  Moreover, when CCSS’s advocates talk about implementation, it seems to mean every important activity in education outside of adopting standards.  By meaning almost everything, it means nothing.