As states and districts adopt and implement new academic standards based on Common Core State Standards, it is critical to enable and examine ways for teachers to work and learn together with a shared goal of strengthening curriculum design, classroom practices, and student work products.
The Common Assignment Study is a three-year effort being led by The Colorado Education Initiative and The Fund for Transforming Education in Kentucky with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Participating teachers will develop and teach two instructional units per year that exemplify the content knowledge and skills embedded in the Kentucky Core Academic Standards and the Colorado Academic Standards. The units contain common performance tasks for students, including modules from the Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC), an instructional approach being used by districts in both states. Project updates, research findings, and instructional resources will be made available in the lists below on a rolling basis throughout the study. Check back often for new additions.English Language Arts Unit
Words Matter (High School)
Children Have the Right to... (Middle School)
History Unit
Cold War (High School)
U.S. Westward Expansion (Middle School)
Science Unit
Ecology (High School)
Genetic Testing and Bio-Engineering (Middle School)
Educator Tools for Evaluation of Units
| Unit Template | ||
| Unit Quality Rubric | ||
| Student Work Analysis Protocol |
During the first year of the study, 2013-14, two districts from each state will co-develop and pilot common assignments in selected middle- and high-schools. In subsequent years, additional teachers and schools will test and help refine the common- assignments and related protocols to help ensure their quality, utility, and value for use within and across districts. Learn more about the Common Assignment Study and its impact.
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