Imagination in Education was a qualitative inquiry that explored the effects the implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) had on imagination within high school cultures. The central question for this study was: How do New York City Department of Education (NYC DOE) high school principals conceptualize imagination within their school culture? Sub-question a: How does a high school principals' perception of imagination influence the school's curriculum? Sub-question b: How does the high school principals' perception of imagination influence the schools' programming and courses offer to students? The research was driven by Vygotsky's theory of the development of a student's imagination, Dewey's theory of the application of a student's imagination, Greene's theory of the possibilities of a student's imagination, Pierce's theory of quantifying a student's imagination, Robinson's theory of stifling a student's imagination and Disney's "Figment of the Imagination's, Setting the Imagination Free". This qualitative inquiry interviewed NYC DOE high school principals using one-on-one interviews to collect data. The data collected was inductively processed. The participants in this study overwhelmingly addressed the influence of: (a) city and state mandates, (b) graduation requirements, (c) Regents exams, and the implementation of the CCSS. All participants spoke about using their imagination daily in navigating the mandates and meeting the staff and student's needs. They also spoke about motivating teachers to use their imagination with classroom instruction, curriculum and lesson plans. However, when they spoke about the students, the goal was simply providing strategies to pass the Regents and graduate. This research raised the question of: Are we educating a future society of young adults that can answer questions on a test or a society where individuals can think for themselves and imagine the future possibilities. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]