Under the Common Core State Standards, Algebra 1 is a much tougher course than what was taught previously in most states, teachers and standards experts say, in part because many of the concepts that ...

When I started teaching algebra 12 years ago, I was given a textbook, a day-by-day plan listing the sections in the textbook that I was expected to teach, and a roster of students. I attended various ...

, on one side were those who argued for a new focus on concepts and reasoning rather than drilling students on their times-tables. On the other were the traditionalists, who said the progressive ...