Curriculum Matters
This blog covered news on the common core, literacy, math, STEM, social studies, the arts, and other curriculum and instruction topics. This blog is no longer being updated, but you can continue to explore these issues on edweek.org by visiting our related topic pages: common core, reading & literacy, mathematics, STEM, social studies, and curriculum.
School & District Management
Federal Study Probes Readiness of 4th Graders for Computer-Based Writing Tests
Fourth graders are capable of using a computer to type, organize, and write well enough to be assessed, a federal pilot study finds. But whether a computer-based test can effectively measure their abilities remains to be determined.
School & District Management
A Double Dose of Math Has Diminishing Returns, Study Finds
Doubling up on math classes for a year may help middle school students in the short-term, but the benefits of doing so depreciate over time—and are likely not be worth the price of missing out on instruction in other subjects, according to a new study.
Standards & Accountability
A Professor's Plea to Stop Teaching Calculus in High Schools
A Johns Hopkins University professor argues that high schools should stop teaching calculus, and instead teach computer science and statistics.
Federal
U.S. Ranks Low for Innovation in Education
The U.S. ranked near the bottom in an exhaustive international comparison of educational innovation, but received high grades for use of assessments and parent engagement.
Assessment
College Board, ETS Apologize for 'Racist' T-Shirts Sold at AP History Grading Event
The College Board and Educational Testing Service have issued an apology about T-shirts bearing racially charged caricatures of Chinese politicians that were distributed at a grading event for the Advanced Placement World History exam last month.
Standards & Accountability
Florida Adopts Standards for Teaching Financial Literacy
Florida is the first state to adopt a set of standards developed by the Council for Economic Education.
Standards & Accountability
AFT Takes Key Steps on Standards, Accountability
At its convention in Los Angeles, the American Federation of Teachers approved a resolution calling for greater educator involvement in implementing the common-core standards.
Assessment
What Will the AFT Do About Common Core?
Two resolutions floating around the AFT convention in Los Angeles offer very different positions on the common core.
Reading & Literacy
A Return to 'Balanced Literacy'?
The new NYC schools chancellor is advocating teachers use the once-mandated citywide reading instruction known as "balanced literacy."
Standards & Accountability
New Jersey and California Press On With Common Core
New Jersey readopts the common core in math and English/language arts, while California adopts the first instructional framework based on the new standards.
Standards & Accountability
New Jersey Adopts Common Science Standards
On July 9, the New Jersey education department announced that the state board had adopted the common science standards, making it the 12th state to do so.
Social Studies
California District Adopts Ethnic-Studies Requirement
Students in a small district near Los Angeles will soon be required to take an ethnic studies course in order to graduate—a requirement some California legislators are hoping districts will adopt statewide.
Standards & Accountability
Okla. Gov. Fallin: We Can Do Better Than Common Core
Oklahoma's governor, who once supported the common core but later signed off on her state's bid to dump it, writes that her state can improve K-12 performance on its own.
Curriculum
NEA Delegates Talk Common-Core Math
Members of the teachers' union generally said they like the common standards, but lack resources and are scared about what testing will bring.