Abstract

This study focused on the state-level implementation of the Common Core English Language Arts (CC-ELA) standards and the implications for state education department personnel in social studies. Researchers employed a mixed methods approach to data collection and analysis asking the following research questions: (1) How do state-level social studies coordinators understand the obligations and implications of the CC-ELA standards for social studies? and (2) What benefits and challenges do they anticipate the CC-ELA standards offer to social studies educators? Findings from the survey and interviews offer a glimpse into the thinking of social studies coordinators. The findings clustered around four assertions: (1) Coordinators were generally supportive of the CC-ELA standards, (2) CC-ELA is changing the way social studies is enacted at the state level, (3) Coordinators were cautiously optimistic about the impact of CC-ELA on elementary social studies, and (4) Coordinators were consistently positive about the impact of CC-ELA on secondary social studies. The positive views of the CC-ELA standards, however, appeared to do little to mitigate the challenge that the state coordinators face as they translate the standards and teach them to social studies teachers across their states.