Community Info

Approximately one year after setting out to establish Common Core State Standards (CCSS), the two organizations spearheading this broad education reform effort—the Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Governors Association— unveiled standards for two content areas: mathematics and English language arts (ELA). The journey from concept to actuality is traced in the history below.

• In July 2009, work groups and feedback groups composed of representatives from higher education, K–12 education, and the research community began work on standards in mathematics and ELA. Also at this time, a draft of the College and Career Ready Standards were released. Feedback was solicited from a wide range of stakeholders, including educators, administrators, community and parent organizations, higher education representatives, the business community, researchers, civil rights groups, and states.
• In September 2009 the Validation Committee was announced. This 25-member committee of leading figures in the education standards community was charged with providing independent, expert validation of the process. The group met in December 2009, April 2010, and May of 2010.
• In November 2009 the first draft of CCSS grade-level standards was released to states. This was a very rough draft with many sections still in the early stages of development. After comment from the states, two other drafts followed, with conference calls held to obtain verbal feedback. Many states still had concerns, but were pleased with the response to their previous feedback. A few states conducted additional focus groups at this time.
• On March 10, 2010, the first public draft of Common Core State Standards was released. Public feedback was collected through April 2, 2010. The states were afforded two more opportunities to give feedback before the final standards were released.
• Unformatted drafts of the ELA and mathematics standards were released on May 14 and May 26, respectively. States received the final release on June 1, 2010, one day prior to the public release of the final CCSS.
• On June 2, 2010, the final version of the CCSS was released to the public. Also in June, the Validation Committee published its final report, stating:
  “Unlike past standards setting efforts, the Common Core State Standards are based on best practices in national and international education, as well as research and input from numerous sources … The Common Core State Standards represent what American students need to know and do to be successful in college and careers. Once the standards are adopted and implemented, states will determine how best to measure and hold students accountable for meeting these standards.”   (excerpt from "Education Northwest")