ABSTRACT
The task of helping ninth graders succeed in high school requires serious efforts by educators to work within the framework of the Common Core standards at the kindergarten through eighth-grade levels to prepare students for the academic requirements in the upper grades. High schools have the most immediate responsibility for putting in place the curriculum, school organizational features, and strong teachers who will increase ninth graders’ chances of making a good transition to high school. This instructional shift required by the Common Core means that more class time and student writing assignments must be devoted to the analyses of individual texts as well as research projects.
