Title: The Common Core State Standards in Mathematics and K-3 Word Problems in Textbooks
Description: This study concentrated on word problems in Grades Kindergarten-3 and the application of the Standards for Mathematical Practice and the Content Standards. The study also included an analysis of focus, coherence, and rigor in the materials. The textbooks used were among the first editions to be published after the acceptance of the Common Core State Standards in more than 40 states. The study analyzed the presence of the Common Core Standards in each series and how the three textbook series compared to each other in their word problem solving. The correlation of materials in the three textbook series relied on publishers’ descriptions in the Lesson Openers where the usages of the Standards for Mathematical Practice and the Content Standards and the principles of focus, coherence, and rigor are listed. The publishers’ descriptions were analyzed and compared to the individual evaluation criteria. Using an evaluation criterion, the study examined how Standards for Mathematical Practice were implemented in the textbooks.

With the exception of a few grades in two textbook series, the texts displayed low percentages in their adherence to the Standards. The textbook series were similar in their development of word problems labeled with Standards for Mathematical Practice and word problems not labeled with the Standards. In this comparison, the only difference between the two types of word problems was in the verbiage. The Content Standards were used to determine the textbook series alignment with the Standards. The three textbook series showed low implementation of word problem Content Standards when compared to the total number of Standards. In two series, only one Content Standard was listed multiple times rather than a combination of comparable Standards. Relying on the publishers’ descriptions, the study showed how publishers implemented focus, coherence, and rigor in their materials. Of the three publishers, one publisher did not list coherence and rigor in its materials. The other two publishers adhered to focus and coherence in most or all of their materials. All of the publishers fell short in the application of rigor in their textbook series.