The Common Core State Standards provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, so teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them. The standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers. With American students fully prepared for the future, our communities will be best positioned to compete successfully in the global economy.

About the Standards

The Common Core State Standards Initiative is a state-led effort coordinated by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). The standards were developed in collaboration with teachers, school administrators, and experts, to provide a clear and consistent framework to prepare our children for college and the workforce.>

The NGA Center and CCSSO received initial feedback on the draft standards from national organizations representing, but not limited to, teachers, postsecondary educators (including community colleges), civil rights groups, English language learners, and students with disabilities. Following the initial round of feedback, the draft standards were opened for public comment, receiving nearly 10,000 responses.

The standards are informed by the highest, most effective models from states across the country and countries around the world, and provide teachers and parents with a common understanding of what students are expected to learn. Consistent standards will provide appropriate benchmarks for all students, regardless of where they live.

These standards define the knowledge and skills students should have within their K-12 education careers so that they will graduate high school able to succeed in entry-level, credit-bearing academic college courses and in workforce training programs. The standards:

• Are aligned with college and work expectations;
• Are clear, understandable and consistent;
• Include rigorous content and application of knowledge through high-order skills;
• Build upon strengths and lessons of current state standards;
• Are informed by other top performing countries, so that all students are prepared to succeed in our global economy and society; and
• Are evidence-based.

The Common Core State Standards Initiative is a state-led effort, launched more than a year ago by state leaders, including governors and state commissioners of education through their membership in the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO).

The process used to write the standards ensured they were informed by:

• The best state standards;
• The experience of teachers, content experts, states and leading thinkers; and
• Feedback from the general public.

To write the standards, the NGA Center and CCSSO brought together content experts, teachers, researchers and others.

The standards have been divided into two categories:

• College and career readiness standards, which address what students are expected to learn when they have graduated from high school; and
• K-12 standards, which address expectations for elementary through high school.

The NGA Center and CCSSO received nearly 10,000 comments on the standards during two public comment periods. Comments, many of which helped shape the final version of the standards, came from teachers, parents, school administrators and other citizens concerned with education policy.

• The draft college and career ready graduation standards were released for public comment in September 2009; and
• The draft K-12 standards were released for public comment in March 2010.
• The final standards were released in June 2010.

An advisory group has provided advice and guidance to shape the initiative. Members of this group include experts from Achieve, Inc., ACT, the College Board, the National Association of State Boards of Education and the State Higher Education Executive Officers. The Common Core Begins with Commitment to Students

One key element to making the Common Core Standards effective in the classroom is commitment to each student’s capacity to learn. A commitment to students and their learning begins with understanding how they learn and ensuring that knowledge is accessible to children of every learning style. Committing to students includes, but is not limited to:

• Adjusting instruction through careful observations of the students as a class and as individual
• Helping students make contextual connections to prior knowledge
• Foster character, respect, high self-esteem, motivation, and other positive qualities

All high-quality teachers come to know each student’s personality, and they help each student come to know his or her potential. As educator Barnett Berry so precisely puts it, “It’s not just about helping a child learn how to pass a test or know that Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492 and the like. It is really about developing the human spirit.”

As educators commit to the learning of their students, they build a strong foundation in the Common Core Standards and ensure a strong beginning to preparing every student for his or her future.