"Common" Instruction? Logics of Ability and Teacher Decision Making Across Tracks in the Era of Common Standards. (June 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Hodge, Emily M.
• Is Part Of: American educational research journal. Volume 56:Number 3(2019)
• Page Start: 638
• Page End: 675
• Publication Date: 2019-06
• Subjects: Common Core State Standards -- tracking -- literacy -- school districts -- education policy -- instruction -- curriculum; Education -- United States -- Periodicals; Education -- Research -- United States -- Periodicals; 370.97305
• DOI: 10.3102/0002831218803328
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0002-8312

Abstract

This article investigates the interaction between the Common Core State Standards and curricular tracking by examining instructional decision making across tracks in a large metropolitan district. This study draws on institutional logics as a framework to analyze 106 instructional decisions from 24 participants involved in middle school literacy instruction. In lower-track classes, participants often adapted the curriculum and adopted a more teacher-centered approach. About half of the rationales for those decisions reflected a logic of tracking, less than a fifth reflected a logic of differentiation, and almost a third reflected elements of both logics. These findings demonstrate that despite common standards, a tracked school structure continues to serve as a powerful signal about the curriculum and instruction seen as appropriate for different groups of students.