Why Common Core? Educational Standards, the Legislative Process, and Best Practices, with a Unit Design Aligned to the Common Core State Standards, by a Teacher, for Teachers

Abstract

This thesis project was created with two major focuses. The first is to provide insight on educational standards. This includes national versus state standards, international assessments and the implications, and the adoption of the Common Core State Standards. Second, this project shares best practices for implementing the Common Core State Standards, and includes a unit design in surface area and volume in 7th grade mathematics, which is aligned to those standards.