Elevated language in the classroom and on exams is one of the more obvious changes under the new Common Core standards, which are meant to challenge students to think more critically.

With the state planning to have the standards fully in place by the 2014-15 school year, The Plain Dealer visited four local schools to see what the Common Core looks like in the classroom.

Teachers in Nash County say Common Core enables elementary students to applying lessons across the curriculum. Posted 2014-03-20T15:38:51+00:00 - Updated 2014-03-20T15:38:51+00:00 ...

Inside Common Core: A reporter goes back to third grade. Michelle Rotuno-Johnson. ... With 22 third-graders clicking away and chattering to one another, the classroom felt very lively.

Just as with the English teachers, the math instructors said the Common Core doesn’t make them teach many new things – just puts more emphasis on some skills or approaches than before.

“With the Common Core there are so many things we’re expecting to see in the classroom, you really need a guide,” said Robert Rosenfeld, director of the curriculum and assessment training team at ...

The report, The Common Sense Census: Inside the 21st-Century Classroom, polled a nationally representative sample of more than 1,200 K–12 teachers to gauge the state of education technology in America ...