Normally, Sherry Geesaman wouldn’t be nervous. Normally, she’d flip open a plan book or a textbook and start riffing. That is, after all, what veteran educators do. And Geesaman’s been teaching for 20 ...

No matter how you feel about them, the Common Core State Standards are here. Teachers in most states are expected to use the standards for planning, instruction, and assessment—with 65 percent of ...