Future Implications for Policymakers

Common Core State Standards Policy Summit

April, 2010

This is a long way from being the toughest thing America has ever done. Yet I would suggest to you, maybe other than World War II, the risks we are facing are as great as anything we have faced in a long time. We just simply have to do it… if we can’t compete and we slip into a second-rate nation, we will never come back.

James B. Hunt, Jr. Chair of the Hunt Institute and North Carolina’s only four-term governor

Overwhelming majorities of teachers and the engaged public feel that it would be better for all states to have the same standards in mathematics, reading and English language skills

48 states have signed on to participate in the Common Core State Standards Initiative

Support from the Federal Government

Clear, consistent, and relevant standards that draw from the most effective state and international systems (and look to move students even further than these systems)

Designed to ensure that students are college or work ready when they finish high school

Opportunity for students to have the same expectations no matter where they come from

Content standards should be the foundation of the education system

Two Paths

Status Quo

Full Implementation of the Common Core State Standards Initiative

Content StandardsCurriculum & Instruction

Teacher Preparation & Professional Development

Student SupportsAssessment & Performance Standards

Accountability System

• M.E. Goertz, Identifying the Costs of Standards-Based K-12 Education, 2008

• D. Massell, The Current Status and Role of Standards-Based Reform in the United States, 2008

• A. Porter, M. Polikoff & J Smithson, Is There a de Facto National Curriculum? Evidence from State Standards, 2008

• Hart Research Associates, The Common Core State Standards Initiative: Strategic Message Research, 2010

• I. McDonnell, National Research Council Workshop: Evaluating the Options for Common Standards, 2008

Acknowledgments