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AERA

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS), released in 2010 for English language arts and mathematics, have been adopted by 45 states and the District of Columbia. In recent years, AERA’s journals have examined many aspects of the Common Core, including:

• Differences between CCSS and previous standards
• Whether CCSS represents an improvement
• Underlying assumptions of CCSS
• Process of the CCSS’ adoption

The following compendium of articles, provided "toll free" here, are inclusive of all substantive AERA journal content regarding the Common Core. This page will be updated as new articles are published. 

AERA Journal Articles

Organized Interests and the Common Core
Educational Researcher, December 2013 
Drawing on theories of political and policy learning and interviews with major participants in the diverse array of interest groups supporting the Common Core, this article examines the role these groups have played in development and implementation of CCSS. 
Authors: Lorraine M. McDonnell, M. Stephen Weatherford

Challenging the Research Base of the Common Core State Standards: A... 
Educational Researcher, October 2013
Researchers find that contrary to the authors of the English Language Arts component of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) – which builds a case for higher complexity in textbooks and reading materials for students by pointing to research showing a steady decline in the difficulty of student textbooks over the past 50 years – text complexity actually has either risen or stabilized over this time. 
Authors: David A. Gamson, Xiaoofei Lu, Sarah Anne Eckert 

Science and Language for English Language Learners in Relation to N...
Educational Researcher, May 2013 
Addressing the language demands and opportunities embedded in the science and engineering practices in the National Research Council’s “Framework for K-12 Science Education,” the authors also highlight implications for CCSS for English language arts and Mathematics. 
Authors: Okhee Lee, Helen Quinn, Guadalupe Valdés

The Common Core State Standards’ Quantitative Text Complexity Traje... 
Educational Researcher, March 2013
The authors propose a two-part analytical strategy for decision making surrounding the quantitative trajectory standard, the CCSS’s aim for all high school graduates to be able to independently read complex college and workplace texts through quantitative trajectory for text complexity exposure. 
Authors: Gary L. Williamson, Jill Fitzgerald, A. Jackson Stenner

Upping the Ante of Text Complexity in the Common Core State Standar... 
Educational Researcher, January/February 2013
Researchers examine the theoretical and empirical support for assumptions underlying the CCSS’s acceleration of text complexity in grades 2-3 and identify patterns in American reading achievement and instruction in order to illustrate the consequences of an increase in the first step of the CCSS staircase of text complexity levels. 
Authors: Elfrieda H. Hiebert, Heidi Anne E. Mesmer

Curricular Coherence and the Common Core State Standards for Mathem...
Educational Researcher, November 2012
Exploring the relationship of the CCSS in Mathematics (CCSSM) to student achievement, these researchers found a high degree of similarity between CCSSM and standards of the highest-achieving nations on the 1995 Third International Mathematics and Science Study and that states with standards more like CCSSM have higher 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress scores on average. 
Authors: William H. Schmidt, Richard T. Houang 

Assessing the Quality of Common Core State Standards for Mathematics 
Educational Researcher, May 2011
Commenting on “Common Core Standards: The New U.S. Intended Curriculum,” the authors whether the CCSS are an improvement over most state mathematics standards and question whether schools and districts have the capacity to support effective implementation. 
Authors: Paul Cobb, Kara Jackson

Assessing the Common Core Standards: Opportunities for Improving Me...
Educational Researcher, May 2011
Responding to comments on their “Common Core Standards: The New U.S. Intended Curriculum,” the authors suggest additional perspective that should be considered when addressing quality and change, stating additional conceptualizations of mathematics and English language arts content as well as how to define and measure alignment among content standards, materials, assessments, and instruction should be explored. 
Authors: Andrew Porter, Jennifer McKaken, Jun Hwang, Rui Yang

Issues in Analyzing Alignment of Language Arts Common Core Standard... 
Educational Researcher, May 2011
A commentary on “Common Core Standards: The New U.S. Intended Curriculum,” the author offers possibly reasons for the lack of focus found in the CCSS. 
Author: Richard W. Beach

Common Core Standards: The New U.S. Intended Curriculum
Educational Researcher, April 2011
This article compares the Common Core with then-current state standards and assessments, standards in top-preforming countries, and teachers’ descriptions of their own practices. 
Authors: Andrew Porter, Jennifer McKaken, Jun Hwang, Rui Yang

Is There a de Facto National Intended Curriculum? Evidence from Sta...
Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, September 2009
This analysis found considerable variability among states’ content standards, but that a small core curriculum exists across states in the content areas of English language arts and reading, science, and mathematics. 
Authors: Andrew Porter, Morgan Polikoff, John Smithson

By Author

Beach, Richard W. - rbeach@umn.edu

– Issues in Analyzing Alignment of Language Arts Common Core Standard...

Cobb, Paul - paul.cobb@vanderbilt.edu
– Assessing the Quality of Common Core State Standards for Mathematics

Eckert, Sarah Anne - seckert@agnesirwin.org
– Challenging the Research Base of the Common Core State Standards: A...

Fitzgerald, Jill - jfitzgerald@lexile.com
– The Common Core State Standards’ Quantitative Text Complexity Traje...

Gamson, David A. - dag17@psu.edu
– Challenging the Research Base of the Common Core State Standards: A...

Hiebert, Elfrieda H. - hiebert@textproject.org
– Upping the Ante of Text Complexity in the Common Core State Standar...

Houang, Richard T. - houang@msu.edu
– Curricular Coherence and the Common Core State Standards for Mathem...

Hwang, Jun - junhwang@gmail.com
– Common Core Standards: The New U.S. Intended Curriculum
– Assessing the Common Core Standards: Opportunities for Improving Me...

Jackson, Kara - kara.jackson@mcgill.ca
– Assessing the Quality of Common Core State Standards for Mathematics

Lee, Okhee - olee@nyu.edu
– Science and Language for English Language Learners in Relation to N...

Lu, Xiaoofei - xxl13@psu.edu
– Challenging the Research Base of the Common Core State Standards: A...

McDonnell, Lorraine M. - mcdonnell@polsci.ucsb.edu
– Organized Interests and the Common Core

McKaken, Jennifer - jmcmaken@dolphin.upenn.edu
– Common Core Standards: The New U.S. Intended Curriculum
– Assessing the Common Core Standards: Opportunities for Improving Me...

Memser, Heidi Anne E. - hamesmer@vt.edu
– Upping the Ante of Text Complexity in the Common Core State Standar...

Polikoff, Morgan - polikoff@usc.edu
– Is There a de Facto National Intended Curriculum? Evidence from Sta...

Porter, Andrew - andyp@gse.upenn.edu
– Is There a de Facto National Intended Curriculum? Evidence from Sta...
– Common Core Standards: The New U.S. Intended Curriculum
– Assessing the Common Core Standards: Opportunities for Improving Me...

Quinn, Helen - helen.quinn@stanford.edu
– Science and Language for English Language Learners in Relation to N...

Schmidt, William H. - bschmidt@msu.edu
– Curricular Coherence and the Common Core State Standards for Mathem...

Smithson, John - johns@wcer.wisc.edu
– Is There a de Facto National Intended Curriculum? Evidence from Sta...

Stenner, A. Jackson - jstenner@lexile.com
– The Common Core State Standards’ Quantitative Text Complexity Traje...

Yang, Rui - rayeryoung@gmail.com
– Common Core Standards: The New U.S. Intended Curriculum
– Assessing the Common Core Standards: Opportunities for Improving Me...

Valdés, Guadalupe - gvaldes@stanford.edu
– Science and Language for English Language Learners in Relation to N...

Weatherford, M. Stephen - weatherford@polsci.ucsb.edu
– Organized Interests and the Common Core

Williamson, Gary L. - gwilliamson@lexile.com
– The Common Core State Standards’ Quantitative Text Complexity Traje...