The Common Core State Standards and English Learners: A Resource Page

These resources will help you understand how the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) affect preK–12 ESL teachers and their students.

The CCSS is an initiative in the United States launched by the Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Governors Association in 2009 to develop common content standards for states to use in elementary and secondary education. The CCSS mathematics and English language arts standards were released in 2011 and implemented during the 2014–15 academic year.

Adoption of the CCSS is a voluntary, state-level decision. As of 2017, 42 states, the District of Columbia, four territories, and the U.S. Department of Defense Education Activity have adopted and implemented the CCSS. The latest federal K-12 legislation, the Every Student Succeeds Act, further mandates that the adoption of any curriculum is a state-level decision, with no control from the U.S. Department of Education.

Please feel free to share these resources with your colleagues. If you would like to contribute a resource, please contact David Cutler, TESOL's director of advocacy and outreach.

• UNIDOS US: Common Core
This webpage from UNIDOS US (formerly the National Council of La Raza), provides a variety of resources on the Common Core State Standards for teachers, advocates, and parents, many of which are available in Spanish.


• Teaching Higher: Educators' Perspectives on Common Core Implementation (February 2016)
  This report from the Harvard University Center for Education Policy Research highlights the many changes in practices that teachers encountered when adapting to and implementing the Common Core State Standards.
  
  
• Application of Common Core State Standards for English Language Learners 
  This resource from The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers discusses how the Common Core State Standards should be applied to English Language Learners while emphasizing the high the standards that ELLs should be held to when using the CCSS.
  
  
• Colorado: Common Core Standards for English Language Learners
  This webpage, which is supported in part by the American Federation of Teachers Innovation Fund, contains a wealth of resources about the Common Core, some of them in Spanish.

• The Preparation of the ESL Educator in the Era of College- and Career-Readiness Standards
  In September 2015, TESOL International Association convened a meeting of 28 ESL teachers, administrators, university faculty, and leaders in English learner education policy to discuss the role of English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers in the era of new content standards. This document provides an overview of the meeting findings and recommendations.

• TESOL Press Common Core State Standards Book Series
  Books in this series, edited by Luciana C. de Oliveira, provide classroom teachers with practical ideas for engaging K–12 English learners and helping them to succeed with the Common Core (CCSS). The five books cover the CCSS in English language arts; mathematics; and literacy in history/social studies, science, and technical subjects.

• Changes in the Expertise of ESL Professionals: Knowledge and Action in an Era of New Standards (March 2014)
  Written by Guadalupe Valdés, Amanda Kibler, and Aída Walqui, this professional paper discusses the shifting landscape surrounding the Common Core State Standards and the Next Generation Science Standards and their implications for building and enacting teacher expertise. It is written for K–12 ESL professionals, including teachers, teacher-leaders, school principals, district administrators, and other K–12 educators who work primarily or exclusively with English language learners. This paper builds on the work of the briefs from March and April 2013, available below.
  
  
• Implementing the Common Core State Standards for English Learners: The Changing Role of ESL Teachers (April 2013)
  TESOL convened a meeting in February to discuss how implementing the CCSS will affect ESL teachers and their students. The meeting included 30 ESL teachers, administrators, policy makers, and thought leaders from Maryland and the District of Columbia. This document provides an overview of the meeting and a summary of the group's findings.
  
  
• Overview of the Common Core State Standards Initiatives for ELLs (March 2013)
  Confused about CCSS? This TESOL issue brief can help. It provides a brief history of the CCSS within the context of U.S. education reform.
  
  
• TESOL Connections Special Issue on the CCSS (December 2012)
  Written by experts, teachers, and TESOL staff, these articles will help you better understand the CCSS and how it affects ESL teachers and their students.
  
  
• Understanding Language: Language, Literacy, and Learning in the Content Areas
  This initiative, from the Stanford Graduate School of Education, "aims to heighten educator awareness of the critical role that language plays in the new Common Core State Standards and Next Generation Science Standards" and to "improve education for all students—especially English Language Learners." Visit the website for the latest research, news, teaching resources, and policy statements.