The CORE Community: Career and Technical Education Teachers' Perceptions of the Common Core State Standards

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) have been adopted in 43 states within the U.S. However, Career and Technical Education (CTE) teachers are often unsure how their programs can successfully integrate CCSS. The purpose of this study was to understand how participants in a CCSS professional development project perceive the CCSS and how they are currently implementing standards in their classroom prior to beginning the training program. Data were collected through electronic surveys from CTE teachers who agreed to take part in of the CORE Community training program through the Association of Career and Technical Education (n = 170). Only 34% (n = 58) of respondents indicated currently using the CCSS in their teaching while 65% (n = 110) indicated they had received no training on how to integrate CCSS. Participants were most interested in learning how other teachers were using the CCSS in their classrooms and what resources were available for teaching. Teachers were least concerned with the CCSS being a distraction from their content. In regards to trainings needs, teachers indicated they needed the most support identifying education resources and describing the CCSS to other teachers. Teachers also identified ways they were currently integrating English/language arts and math into their programs.