Final Version of Core Standards Assuages Some Concerns

Leah Luke, Wisconsin’s teacher of the year, joins other supporters of the common standards at an event last week at Peachtree Ridge High School in Georgia.

—Vino Wong/Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Expectations of students in math and English outlined in document

By Catherine Gewertz

Suwanee, Ga.

The final set of common academic standards was released last week, capping months of closed-door work to write them and months more to revise them with feedback from state education officials, teachers’ unions, and other education interest groups.

The project is an attempt to address the uneven patchwork of standards that results in differing expectations among schools, districts, and states and leaves many students unprepared for work or college.

Organizers of the Common Core State Standards Initiative announced the final documents at a press event at a Georgia high school on June 2. A high-profile list of guests, including governors and education commissioners, spoke in...