The Common Core State Standards Initiative: Groundbreaking Progress Toward Consistent, Rigorous Standards for All U.S. Students
In 2009, together with other philanthropic organizations, the foundation supported the groundbreaking work of the
Common Core State Standards Initiative 
. Driven by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and the National Governors Association (NGA), the initiative aimed to establish a set of shared K-12 standards for English language arts and mathematics that states could adopt and implement voluntarily.
Standards vary dramatically from state to state and district to district in terms of rigor and the ability to assess the skills and knowledge students actually need. This system has led us to the point where academic requirements have become too cumbersome for teachers to teach and for parents to determine what their children are expected to know. In response to this mile-wide and inch-deep approach, 48 states came together to develop academic standards for K-12 students that provide clear and consistent guidelines for what students need to learn at every grade level to graduate prepared for college and careers.
CCSSO, in partnership with NGA, developed standards that build on the best of current state standards and define what students are expected to know and be able to do each year from kindergarten through high school graduation. Informed by direct input from K-12 teachers, university professors, administrators, parents, education experts from almost every state, and more than 10,000 comments from the public, the new standards provide a staircase for learning so teachers can build students’ knowledge in the right sequence, one step at a time.
“For years we have struggled to articulate expectations and standards,” says Paul E. Lingenfelter, president of State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO). “Clear learning goals for these fundamental skills through K-12 education will give students and teachers a better road map toward the goal of success in college and life.”
“The more states that adopt these college- and career-based standards, the closer we will be to sharing innovation across state borders and improving achievement for all students,” says Co-chair Bill Gates. “As states adopt the standards, policymakers will need to make sure that our teachers have what they need to do their jobs—rich assessment systems that yield useful, timely data; tools that translate that data into more effective instruction; and evaluations and compensation systems that reward teachers for performance.”
We plan to invest up to $250 million over the next eight years to develop next-generation instructional tools for teachers and students that will help states and school districts implement the new standards. We also plan to fund data-driven research that explores ways states can modify the standards and assessments to improve student success in school and the workforce.
The Common Core State Standards are an important step in taking the mystery and luck out of instruction and creating a public education system that lives up to its charge of preparing all children to live life to their fullest potential.