The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics, unveiled in June 2010 by the Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Governors Association in partnership with Achieve, ACT and the College Board, have voluntarily been adopted in its entirety by 44 states, the District of Columbia, and the Virgin Islands with 1 additional state only adopting the ELA standards. With the adoption of these research-and-evidence based, internationally benchmarked standards, states have taken a step to better prepare students with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in college and the workforce in this 21st century global economy. Common standards is a significant and historic movement as students will now have clearer and consistent expectations across the nation, helping to minimize academic challenges when moving across state or district lines.

In response to state boards of education adopting the CCSS, NASBE has been funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to convene regional conferences to assist state boards of education and state-level partners in the implementation and policy alignment of the CCSS. Additionally, NASBE will be developing a general tool kit filled with resources for implementation and promising practices to be distributed in 2012.

The Final K-12 Common Core State Standards in English language arts and mathematics were released June 2, 2010 at 10:00am EDT in Georgia. To view the standards go to: www.corestandards.org.

NASBE Press Releases related to the Common Core Standards work:

More information including previous and upcoming NASBE common core events, podcasts, resources, and reports from the regional conferences are provided below. For the complete list of downloads and resources for the Common Core project, click here.