Mass. Adopts Common Standards Amid Fiery Debate

Following months of lively debate among education, civic, and political leaders, the Massachusetts board of education approved plans Tuesday to replace the state’s own English/language arts and mathematics standards with a common set of teaching guidelines now being approved in states across the nation.

The adoption of the common standards in Massachusetts carries symbolic importance because the state’s curriculum frameworks and aligned assessments, put in place by a 1993 education reform law, have been widely praised for two decades.

Approval in the Bay State has been viewed in some quarters as an important tipping point in attaining state support for the work that emerged from the Common Core State Standards Initiative .