With its emphasis on content aligned to the actual expectations of colleges and employers, the Common Core State Standards can provide a foundational strategy for boosting student success. But success with the standards also requires that school, district and state leaders redesign and invest in the sort of professional development that truly helps teachers be more effective. In this series of three briefs we provide school and system leaders and professional development providers with research, observations and recommendations about the sort of professional learning educators need to help students succeed academically under the new standards.
In researching these briefs we interviewed a diverse mix of educators, service providers and professional development experts as well as leaders of nonprofits, district networks and charter management organizations around the country. We developed the briefs with support from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.
