Challenging Standards: Navigating Conflict and Building Capacity in the Era of the Common Core

The Common Core State Standards are at the center of the latest firestorm in American education reform. But this is not the nation’s first torrid experience with standards implementation. In Challenging Standards, Jonathan Supovitz and James Spillane bring together the collective knowledge of top education researchers who have both experienced and investigated education reform challenges in the past. Combining both evidence-based research and applied knowledge, the contributors share with educational leaders their accrued wisdom about implementing standards in classrooms and systems, building capacity through relationships, and navigating the fractious political terrain. Each section of the book contains a set of facilitative questions that will help leadership teams, book clubs, and professional learning communities connect the chapters to their work.

Jonathan A. Supovitz is the co-director of the Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE) and an associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education. His research examines the policy and leadership influences on the design and implementation of school improvement efforts.

James P. Spillane is the Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Professor in Learning and Organizational Change at the School of Education and Social Policy at Northwestern University. He is also professor of Human Development and Social Policy, professor of Learning Sciences, professor of Management and Organizations, and faculty associate at Northwestern’s Institute for Policy Research. His work explores the policy implementation process at the state, district, school, and classroom levels, focusing on intergovernmental and policy-practice relations.