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The Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) are part of a broader effort coordinated by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers to develop common state standards in key subjects. The CCSSM specify content learning goals by grade in K-8 and by conceptual categories in the high school grades. In addition, there are eight standards for mathematical practice to be addressed throughout K-12 mathematics education, describing fundamental approaches to, and dispositions toward, learning and doing mathematics. States, districts, schools, and teachers may choose to follow, or not follow, the CCSSM specifications; and those that do will likely differ in how they interpret the standards, what they plan to do in response, and their capacity to implement their plans. As a result, and because of

Since June 2010, 46 states and Washington DC have chosen to adopt the Common Core State Standards (CCSS)--K-12 standards in mathematics and English language arts/literacy developed through a multi-state initiative led by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers. As implementation of the standards is underway, new common assessments also are being developed that will align to the CCSS. Together these Common Core State Standards and assessments will provide an important foundation for transforming education and making college and career readiness a reality for all students. These new standards and assessments will directly impact over 42 million students in K-12 public schools and 2.7 million educators teaching in those schools across the country. Through nationally commissioned polling, Achieve has been monitoring voter and teacher awareness and support for the CCSS. The first national poll was conducted in August 20111 followed by a newly released poll, conducted in May 2012. Key findings include: (1) Voters and teachers strongly support common standards and assessments. Voter support remains strong regardless of age, education level, race, ethnicity, or party affiliation; (2) There has been a significant increase in awareness of the Common Core State Standards among teachers since August 2011, while awareness of the CCSS continues to be very low among voters; (3) The more teachers know about the CCSS, the more positive impression they have of the standards. Similarly, voters who are aware of the Common Core hold a net favorable view of the standards; (4) A majority of both voters and teachers support the CCSS assessments and support holds when more information on the assessments is provided; and (5) However, there are mixed reactions to some specific components of the new assessments, although voters and teachers are fairly consistent in their views on the highest and lowest rated assessment components. (Contains 2 footnotes.)

Since June 2010, 46 states and Washington DC have chosen to adopt the Common Core State Standards (CCSS)--K-12 standards in mathematics and English language arts/literacy developed through a multi-state initiative led by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers. As implementation of the standards is underway, new common assessments also are being developed that will align to the CCSS. Together these Common Core State Standards and assessments will provide an important foundation for transforming education and making college and career readiness a reality for all students. These new standards and assessments will directly impact over 42 million students in K-12 public schools and 2.7 million educators teaching in those schools across the country. Through nationally commissioned polling, Achieve has been monitoring voter and teacher awareness and support for the CCSS. The first national poll was conducted in August 20111 followed by a newly released poll, conducted in May 2012. Key findings include: (1) Voters and teachers strongly support common standards and assessments. Voter support remains strong regardless of age, education level, race, ethnicity, or party affiliation; (2) There has been a significant increase in awareness of the Common Core State Standards among teachers since August 2011, while awareness of the CCSS continues to be very low among voters; (3) The more teachers know about the CCSS, the more positive impression they have of the standards. Similarly, voters who are aware of the Common Core hold a net favorable view of the standards; (4) A majority of both voters and teachers support the CCSS assessments and support holds when more information on the assessments is provided; and (5) However, there are mixed reactions to some specific components of the new assessments, although voters and teachers are fairly consistent in their views on the highest and lowest rated assessment components. (Contains 2 footnotes.)

As defined on the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) website, "the Common Core State Standards provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn... reflecting the "knowledge" and "skills" that our young people need for success in college and careers." While the "knowledge" defined within the CCSS is apparent--the content itself--the "skills" that are imparted by the standards may be less apparent. What specifically should students be able to "do" as a result of mastering the CCSS in mathematics and English language arts/literacy (ELA/literacy)? Beyond the mastery of concepts and content, with what skills--and even more important, what "transferable" skills--will students leave high school? To answer these questions, Achieve commissioned an analysis to identify the types and range of skills reflected in the CCSS in mathematics and ELA/literacy, using two sets of skills statements as benchmarks--the Deeper Learning Standards and the Career Cluster Essential Knowledge and Skills Statements. Based on this analysis, Achieve found that: (1) Many skills are reflected throughout the CCSS in either or both subjects--skills such as communications, teamwork/collaboration, problem solving, critical thinking and research skills; (2) The CCSS articulate a set of skills that require an academic foundation in ELA/literacy or mathematics but have technical elements or applications--such as work-based communications and job-seeking skills--that are outside the scope of the CCSS; (3) The CCSS include skills that could be reflected in CCSS-aligned instruction, such as adaptability and motivation/self-discipline, even though they are not explicitly required or called out in the CCSS; (4) Finally, some skills--mostly technical or work-based in nature, such as career planning, ethical reasoning and conflict resolution skills--are simply outside the scope of the mathematics and ELA/literacy CCSS. Appended are: (1) Standards and Skills Statements Coding; and (2) Commonly Identified CCSS. (Contains 6 tables and 8 endnotes.) [Contributions provided by Jason Weedon, Chad Colby and Rebecca Wittenstein.]

The Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) were developed as part of a broader effort coordinated by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers to develop common state standards in key subjects. Released in 2010, the CCSSM are intended to provide a blueprint for the mathematics that students should learn, and when they should learn that mathematics, to ensure that they are well prepared for college and careers when they graduate from high school. States, districts, schools, and teachers may choose to follow, or not follow, that blueprint; and those that do will likely differ in how they interpret it, what they plan to do about it, and their capacity to implement their plans. As a result, and because of considerable differences among school contexts and student populations, common standards are not likely to lead to the same results, either in implementation or in impacts on students. The goal of this project was to suggest a set of priorities for research that would provide the field with a reasonably broad and deep understanding of the influence of the CCSSM, including whether, how, and under what conditions the initiative results in improved student learning in grades K-12 and enhanced college/career readiness. This report provides background information on the CCSSM and on a framework for investigating the influence of standards developed by a committee of the National Research Council. The report then describes how we went about developing a priority research agenda; and concludes with the resulting recommendations for research on the influence of the CCSSM. The following appendices are included: (1) Potential Pathways of Influence: Teacher Preparation Domain; (2) Sample Indicators of Alignment; (3) Lines of Inquiry and Review Feedback; (4) Contributors; and (5) Other Research Areas of Interest for Understanding the Influence of the CCSSM. (Contains 5 footnotes, 1 table, and 2 figures.) [This report was written with the assistance of William O. Fulkerson, Adrienne A. Smith, and Shayla M. Thomas.]