"Corporate reform" is not reform at all. Instead, it is the systematic destruction of the foundational American institution of public education. The primary motivation behind this destruction is greed. Public education in America is worth almost a trillion dollars a year. Whereas American public education is a democratic institution, its destruction is being choreographed by a few wealthy, well-positioned individuals and organizations. This book investigates and exposes the handful of people and institutions that are often working together to become the driving force behind destroying the community public school.

"Corporate reform" is not reform at all. Instead, it is the systematic destruction of the foundational American institution of public education. The primary motivation behind this destruction is greed. Public education in America is worth almost a trillion dollars a year. Whereas American public education is a democratic institution, its destruction is being choreographed by a few wealthy, well-positioned individuals and organizations. This book investigates and exposes the handful of people and institutions that are often working together to become the driving force behind destroying the community public school.

In schools serving high concentrations of bilingual learners, it can be especially challenging for teachers to maintain commitments to equity minded instruction while meeting the demands of new educational policies, including national standards. This book details how one school integrated equity pedagogy into standards-based curriculum and produced exemplary levels of achievement. As the authors illustrate, however, the school's dual commitment to bilingual education and standards-based reform engendered numerous complex tensions. Specifically, the authors describe teachers' attempts to balance demands for rigor and content coverage within their high-performing school and with their diverse student population. They identify specific tensions that emerged, concerning: The degree of academic struggle that is generative for student learning, and the point at which such struggle becomes counterproductive. The holding of high expectations for all learners and the provision of differentiated, student-centered learning experiences. The CCSS emphasis on engaging students around more complex text and the contested determination of what constitutes complexity in text and in teaching. The influence of high-stakes accountability on school norms and practices, including teachers' interpretations and enactment of new national standards. The performance pressures placed on teachers in today's educational policy context. This timely book illustrates what can happen when a school's teachers embrace equity pedagogy while navigating policy-related pressures. It offers a cogent counternarrative to traditional accounts of standards-based reform, especially for emerging bilingual students.

In schools serving high concentrations of bilingual learners, it can be especially challenging for teachers to maintain commitments to equity minded instruction while meeting the demands of new educational policies, including national standards. This book details how one school integrated equity pedagogy into standards-based curriculum and produced exemplary levels of achievement. As the authors illustrate, however, the school's dual commitment to bilingual education and standards-based reform engendered numerous complex tensions. Specifically, the authors describe teachers' attempts to balance demands for rigor and content coverage within their high-performing school and with their diverse student population. They identify specific tensions that emerged, concerning: The degree of academic struggle that is generative for student learning, and the point at which such struggle becomes counterproductive. The holding of high expectations for all learners and the provision of differentiated, student-centered learning experiences. The CCSS emphasis on engaging students around more complex text and the contested determination of what constitutes complexity in text and in teaching. The influence of high-stakes accountability on school norms and practices, including teachers' interpretations and enactment of new national standards. The performance pressures placed on teachers in today's educational policy context. This timely book illustrates what can happen when a school's teachers embrace equity pedagogy while navigating policy-related pressures. It offers a cogent counternarrative to traditional accounts of standards-based reform, especially for emerging bilingual students.

In her new book, bestselling author Mercedes Schneider provides little-known details about the history of the Common Core State Standards. She lifts the veil on how the Common Core was developed, who was present in the back room, the push to copyright it so that test-makers could profit, and the urgency for governors to sign commitments before the standards were even completed. CCSS is publicized as being a state-led, teacher-developed approach guaranteed to ensure that all students are college- and career-ready. By the end of this eye-opening book, readers will come to understand the CCSS and its attendant assessments as something very different-an education-restricting, profit-garnering opportunity packaged as an education-sounding sales pitch. Common Core Dilemma will appeal to readers across the political spectrum who want to better understand the role of corporations, nonprofits, big donors with strings attached, and the federal government in exercising control in our schools.