Top Down Policy and the Intersection of Teacher Belief and Action - A Photo Elicitation Study of the Impacts of Common Core State Standards

Oct 15, 2026

This paper examines how policy creation connects to policy enactment through photo elicitation, an innovative qualitative method. Teachers implementing the Common Core State Standards in two states participated in in-depth interviews, contributed photographs, and shared related artifacts. Results show bipartisan political influence on implementation, teachers’ tendency to map prior practices onto new standards, and the effect of state mandated assessment on perceptions, interpretations, evaluations, and self-reflections.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages17

Reading Time43 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Background on CCSS launch and adoption

Opposition, political vulnerability, and state adaptations

Policy implementation in classroom practice

Research design and study context (2015-2016)

Assessment alignment and district/school experiences

Top Down Policy and the Intersection of Teacher Belief and Action: A Photo Elicitation Study of the Impacts of Common Core State Standards Renee M.R. Moran, East Tennessee State University, Huili Hong, Vanderbilt University, Karin J. Keith, Stacey Fisher, & LaShay Wood, East Tennessee State University Abstract This paper focuses on the relationship between policy creation and policy enactment through the use of an innovative qualitative research methodology, photo elicitation. Teachers applying Common Core State Standards were studied in two states through indepth interviews, photographs captured by the participants, and other artifacts. Findings indicated the influence of bi-partisan politics on policy implementation as well as teachers’tendencies to map previous practices onto the new standards. Additionally, data demonstrated the influence of state mandated assessment on teachers’perceptions ofthe standards. This study provides new insights on teachers’ interpretations, evaluations, and selfreflections of the CCSS and the related practical experiences through a rigorous microanalysis of their professional conversations with teacher educators/university researchers. Keywords: Top down policy; Qualitative research; Photo elicitation; Assessment; Teacher reflection; Common Core State Standards Introduction The Common Core State Standards (CCSS), developed by the United States National Governor’s Association in conjunction with the Council of Chief State School Officers, were launched in 2009 and to date have been adopted in forty-one states, four territories, the Department of Defense Education Activity, and the District of Columbia ([www.corestandards.org](www.corestandards.org), 2021). However, since the original launch date, opposition to the implementation has abounded. As politicians and policymakers scurried to appease the increasingly loud opposition to CCSS and the apparent politicized nature of the implementation, states began to backtrack. Several states have adapted, eliminated, revised, or renamed the standards. Meanwhile, the debate continues, though more quietly it seems. Proponents view the creation of common standards as a springboard for success in college and career readiness, particularly because of increased focus on demanding content that must be understood and applied as well as the requirement of strong foundational skills in disciplinary reasoning, text-based argumentation, and inference (Coburn et al., 2016; Jenkins & Agamba, 2013) . Those in opposition lament lack of local control and a federal government overreach. In hindsight, it is perhaps unsurprising that what seemed at first to be an innocuous policy became quite politically charged resulting in quick repeals. As McDonnell & Weatherford (2016) note, policies that are ripe for political vulnerability are also likely be severely impacted at the implementation and enaction stages. In our work, we strive to connect policy implementation to those in the “trenches,” teachers, as we seek to understand how CCSS policy implementation impacted the day-to-day lives of teachers and students. We argue that understanding this piece of the puzzle is critical to future successful policy implementation. Roskos and Neuman (2013) note that a common set of standards inevitably shapes the daily instructional decisions made in the K-12 classroom.“Although standards may serve as a Common Core framework, they nonetheless must be integrated into the fabric of local classroom life and be responsive to the wider world if they are to really work”(Roskos & Neuman, 2013, p. 471) . The notion of understanding the impact of policy on classroom life at a micro level is the foundation of this research study. Scholars note the difficulty of conducting research that accurately measures the impacts of CCSS with emphasis on test scores as a measure with limited reliability as well as conflicting variables for different states such as funding, hesitation of teach

FAQs

What research method does the study use to examine CCSS implementation?

The study uses photo elicitation as an innovative qualitative approach, combining in-depth interviews, participant photographs, and other artifacts.

How does political context influence teachers’ implementation of CCSS?

Findings indicate that bipartisan politics affects policy implementation, and teachers’ previous practices can shape how they enact the new standards.

What role do state mandated assessments play in teachers’ perceptions of CCSS?

The study reports that state mandated assessment influences teachers’ perceptions of the standards, affecting how teachers interpret and evaluate CCSS in practice.

Oct 15, 2026

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