by Katie Cristol and Brinton S. Ramsey

Foreword by Amber M. Northern and Michael J. Petrilli

The Common Core State Standards are in place in forty-five states—and in many of those jurisdictions, educators are hard at work trying to bring them to life in their schools and classrooms.

But how is implementation going so far? That’s what this new study explores in four “early-implementer” school systems. Common Core in the Districts: An Early Look at Early Implementers provides an in-depth examination of real educators as they earnestly attempt to put higher standards into practice. This up-close look at district-level, school-level, and classroom-level implementation yields several key findings:

1. Teachers and principals are the primary faces and voices of the Common Core standards in their communities
2. Implementation works best when district and school leaders lock onto the Common Core standards as the linchpin of instruction, professional learning, and accountability in their buildings
3. In the absence of externally vetted, high-quality Common Core materials, districts are striving—with mixed success—to devise their own
4. The scramble to deliver quality CCSS-aligned professional development to all who need it is as crucial and (so far) as patchy as the quest for suitable curriculum materials
5. The lack of aligned assessments will make effective implementation of the Common Core challenging for another year

In short, districts are in the near-impossible situation of operationalizing new standards before high-quality curriculum and tests aligned to them are finished. Yet the clock is ticking, and the new tests and truly aligned textbooks are forthcoming. Today’s implementation is a bit like spring training, a time when focusing on the fundamentals, teamwork, and steady improvement is more important than the score.

Download Common Core in the Districts: An Early Look at Early Implementers to learn how implementation of these ambitious new academic standards is working in a high-performing suburb, a trailblazer, an urban bellwether, and a creative implementer—and to glean lessons for districts and schools across the nation.