Successfully implementing the Common Core State Standards

ASCD has released a new report titled Fulfilling the Promise of the Common Core State Standards: Moving from Adoption to Implementation to Sustainability illuminating activities educators and policymakers at all levels can undertake to successfully implement the Common Core State Standards across the nation. This free report can be found on the EduCore™ site, ASCD’s free repository of evidence-based strategies, videos, and supporting documents that help educators transition to the Common Core standards.

The recommendations included in Fulfilling the Promise of the Common Core State Standards are derived from data gathered from field work, surveys, and educator summits. While focusing on tactics and strategies educators across the nation can use to implement the new standards, this report delves deeper into the needs, input, and activities of educators in four states diverse in location and education practice—Arkansas, Colorado, North Carolina, and Utah.

Based on the data gathered, ASCD has made a number of key recommendations to education leaders that will help them successfully implement the Common Core State Standards in their school systems. Among the recommendations are to

* Transform principals into instructional leaders;
* Listen to educators about their professional learning needs;
* Adopt technology for teaching and learning;
* Align initiatives into comprehensive reforms;
* Make sure educators deeply understand the standards and the key instructional shifts they require; and
* Vet instructional resources for quality and alignment with the standards.