Have you run into a parent in the grocery store or on the street who corners you about something they heard was in the Common Core State Standards (CCSS)? Or have you seen wild claims on social media about nefarious content in CCSS? Your instincts tell you that there is a lot of misinformation out there, but you may have thought it difficult to address specific concerns or questions in a timely way. The good news is that there is an app for that! The Common Core App, developed by Mastery Connect, is a free mobile app that allows you to [...]

Although California has certainly been at the forefront of embracing the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and much of the CCSS negativity in other parts of the county are largely absent in the Golden State, there are a number of other states that are doing some great work both in Common Core implementation as well as communication. Here we focus on a video series from Idaho focused on mathematics implementation of CCSS. One video does an excellent job at explaining the difference between standards and curriculum. Other videos in the series walk through each grade and illustrate how the Common [...]

School leaders and school board members across the country are struggling to explain the value of the new Common Core State Standards (CCSS) to parents and community members. California’s transition to CCSS represents a key part of our state’s public education remodeling project, but given the scope of the change it is difficult for the larger community to really understand what it is, what it isn’t, and what it all means for our students. Fortunately, there are already a number of communication tools that can be used by school leaders to communicate (a) why CCSS was developed, (b) how it [...]