Professional Book Reviews: Implementing the CCSS

Prior to the 1990s, publishers, rather than legislators, had one of the heavier influences on classroom curriculum. Then came national standards and legislative agendas like reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, aka No Child Left Behind, and the subsequent Reading First legislation. The most current top-down invention is Common Core State Standards (CCSS). While some teachers support them, others do not and are working on the long-term agenda to repeal them. Meanwhile, in classrooms all across the country, teachers who agree with the best practices advocated by NCTE and other professional organizations struggle with how to reconcile those practices with CCSS. We reviewed seven books, four of them published by NCTE, that suggest ways teachers can continue with best practices in the era of CCSS.