This blog post was authored by Pamela Fong, Research Associate with the Center for the Future of Teaching & Learning at WestEd.

California school districts adopted Common Core State Standards six years ago, and across the state, districts are in varied places with their standards implementation.

In urban, rural, and suburban areas, districts have varying and unique needs for increasing teacher confidence with the rigorous standards and improving instructional practices that are helping their students to meet the mathematics and literacy standards across content areas.

In fall 2015, the Center for the Future of Teaching & Learning at WestEd (The Center) went straight to the source — California district superintendents, superintendents of curriculum and instruction, and leaders of charter management organizations (CMOs) — to ask where they are with standards implementation, what challenges they are facing, and what kind of support is needed at this phase.

We talked individually with these education leaders from 42 California districts and CMOs, whose students, collectively, are a representative sample of the state’s student demographics.

In a special three-part CenterView series, the Center shares insights about how districts report on their progress and their perceived challenges with advancing CCSS implementation.

The first in the CenterView series, Common Core Implementation in California: A Snapshot of Districts’ Progress, describes how districts have taken to developing their internal capacity for supporting teaching and learning, the conundrum in selecting quality curricula aligned to the standards, and how teachers are progressing with mastering CCSS.

Here are a few key findings included in this CenterView issue:

  • Districts have built internal capacity over time to support standards implementation
  • Teachers are making progress toward mastering standards-aligned instruction, but still need support
  • Educators are challenged by the glut of unvetted curricula and resources and want guidance
  • Districts use varied funding sources for CCSS-implementation expenses

What else did we learn from California district leaders? Visit the recently launched Center for the Future of Teaching & Learning website. Learn more about whom we talked to, our findings, and the overall current state of California standards implementation.

The second and third issues of this CenterView series will be published in coming months. Be on the lookout for blog posts and additional insights from California district leaders on how they are building capacity to deepen the work, despite the continued constraints, and how they’d like to partner with service providers.