Supporting Common Core Implementation in English/Language Arts: Investigating the Resource Selection and Dissemination Strategies of State Coordinators

While the majority of states have adopted the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), little is known about how this new landscape may have affected states' approaches to supporting standards implementation. Common standards create the opportunity for curriculum materials or other resources to be shared across state lines. In their prior research, Drs. Hodge, Benko, and Salloum evaluated the extent to which curricular resources were shared across states, finding wide variation in the degree to which states were providing resources created internally, by other states, or by external organizations. However, the factors leading state educational agencies to take these distinct approaches to standards implementation are unclear. Therefore, the three investigators are focused on understanding the perspectives of state English/Language Arts (ELA) coordinators—key informants in each state for resource selection and dissemination. Through in-depth interviews, they are investigating how ELA coordinators select curricular and professional resources, and the approaches they use to support state ELA teachers in standards implementation. In addition to qualitative analysis of interviews, they are using social network analysis to visualize ELA coordinators' advice networks. This work provides a greater understanding of how states can more effectively support the implementation of college and career ready standards. ,