The 50 Year History of the Common Core - The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) - lineage and standards-based reform

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by dabgoudw

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) mark a major K-12 curricular policy shift, yet the paper traces their lineage and ties them to the long-running standards-based reform movement. The essay situates CCSS within broader historical developments, linking implementation experiences of veteran educators to current debates. It also reviews recent literature and examines comparisons, common implementation traps, and how CCSS may support more equitable outcomes for minoritized and underserved students.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages18

Reading Time45 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

The History of the SBR Movement: Early Seeds of Reform

The 50 Year History of the Common Core Wil Greer The Journal of Educational Foundations Vol. 31, No. 3 & 4 Fall/Winter 2018, pp. 100.117 Copyright 2018 by Caddo Gap Press Abstract The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) represent an historic shift in K-12 curricular policy. Yet, few have explicitly traced the lineage of the CCSS and linked them to the decades-old standards-based reform movement. This essay situates the CCSS within the larger historical context of standards-based reform. It concludes with a discussion of recent literature comparing them to past standards, implementation traps, and their potential for increasing equitable outcomes amongst minoritized students. One goal of this work is to serve as a reference for policy and curriculum students. Another is to provide context for and the linkages between the numerous curricular reforms many veteran educators have witnessed throughout their careers. By doing so it provides a counternarrative to common notions of disjointed reform. Keywords: Common Core State Standards, standards-based reform, Elementary and Secondary Education Act Introduction After their passage in 2010, the vast majority of states in the United States adopted the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) . The CCSS outline specific skills in English language arts and mathematics, and seek to bring national cohesion to the K-12 instructional core (Durand, Lawson, Wilcox, & Schiller, 2016; Porter, McMaken, Hwang, & Yang, 2011) . By displacing the 50 sets of state standards with one largely uniform set of content standards, they represent a seismic, heretofore unseen turn in curricular policy (Marrongelle, Sztajn, & Smith, 2013; Porter, Fusarelli, & Fusarelli, 2015) . Yet, by further delineating the Wil Greer is an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Leadership & Technology in the College of Education at California State University, San Bernardino. His e-mail address [is: wgreer@csusb.edu](is: wgreer@csusb.edu) skills and knowledge American K-12 students should develop, they are also aligned with the lengthy history of standards-based reform (SBR)(Gamson, Lu, & Eckert, 2013; Kornhaber, Griffith, & Tyler, 2014) . Though history is an important tool for interpreting, understanding, critiquing, and implementing school reform (Barth, 2013; Earley, 2000; Spillane, Reiser, & Reimer, 2002), few analyses of the Common Core do more than give the history that made them possible short shrift. Aside from Kenna and Russell III (2014), and Rothman’s (2011) excellent book, cursory summaries that quickly mentionNo Child Left Behind and Race to the Top abound. Ironically, the CCSS are often described as historic, or as representing an historic shift in curriculum and instruction, yet few have fully explicated why this is. Thus, this article provides context for and the linkages between the numerous curricular reforms many veteran educators have witnessed throughout their careers. As Hargreaves and Goodson (2006) noted in their longitudinal study of school reform, seasoned teachers often experience change as a seemingly endless, disjointed cycle. This essay offers a counter narrative that may provide clarity for teachers, administrators, professors of education, policy and curriculum students. Comparisons between the CCSS and past standards, common implementation traps, and their potential for increasing equitable outcomes amongst underserved students will be discussed herein as well. The History of the SBR Movement: Early Seeds of Reform Since the advent of the American public school, no shortage of efforts have been made to create a semblance ofcommon standards. In 1892 the National Education Association’s Committee ofTen argued for a standardized high school curriculum, or a “national system of education that aims at certain common results and uses certain common means…”(Makenzie, 1894, p. 148) . By the early 20th century several regional organizations were using a loose frame

FAQs

What is the main purpose of the essay about the Common Core?

The essay situates the CCSS within the broader historical context of standards-based reform and provides linkages to earlier curricular reforms.

How does the article connect the CCSS to past standards-based reform?

It argues that CCSS reflects a longer history of standards-based reform and outlines how earlier policy developments helped make the CCSS possible.

What does the essay say about equity outcomes for students?

It discusses comparisons with past standards and implementation traps, and it considers CCSS’s potential to increase equitable outcomes, especially for minoritized and underserved students.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by dabgoudw