Overview of the Common Core

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are an effort by states to define a common core of knowledge and skills that students should develop in K–12 education so they will graduate from high school prepared for college or careers. The standards were first released in 2010; as of 2022, 41 states plus the District of Columbia have adopted the standards.

• Visit the official website: Common Core State Standards Initiative

The CCSS initiative has been led by the states, with coordination by the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). To write the standards, the NGA Center and CCSSO brought together content experts, teachers, researchers, and others. The public was invited to comment on the drafts, and more than 10,000 comments were received. Learn more about how the standards were developed.

Key shifts for English language arts and literacy

• Building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction
• Reading, writing, and speaking grounded in evidence from text (fiction and nonfiction)
• Regular practice with different kinds of complex text across all the content areas
• Read the Standards for English Language Arts

What’s happening in your state?

Find out if your state has adopted the standards by looking at the map on the CCSS website. Just click your state name on the interactive map and you’ll link to your state's department of education for detailed information about implementation, support for instruction, professional development resources, assessment guidelines, and much more.

Video: experts and educators

More Video

• Common Core Implementation Video Series (Council of Chief State School Officers)

For teachers

The Basics

• An Introduction to the Common Core Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy
• What Teachers Need to Know About the Common Core State Standards
• Key Shifts of the Common Core Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy
• Shifts in ELA/Literacy Required by the Common Core
• Instructional Shifts for the Common Core (PPT)
• The Common Core State Standards: Caution and Opportunity for Early Childhood Education (NAEYC)

Implementation

• ELA/Literacy Grade-Level Instructional Materials Evaluation Tool (Council of the Great City Schools)
• Literacy Implementation Guidance for the ELA Common Core State Standards (International Reading Association)
• NEA Common Core Standards Toolkit (National Education Association)
• Resources for Student-Centered Instruction in a Time of Common Core Standards (National Council of Teachers of English)
• Common Core Resources (ASCD)
• Get to the Core Webinar Series (ASCD)
• EduCore: Tools for Teaching the Common Core (ASCD)
• P21 Common Core Toolkit (Partnership for 21st Century Skills)
• Student Center Activities Aligned to the Common Core State Standards (Center on Instruction)
• A Suggested Progression of Sub-skills to Achieve the Reading Standards: Foundational Skills in the Common Core State Standards (Center on Instruction)
• Achieving the Common Core (Achieve)
• Success at the Core (Education Development Center)
• Common Core Resources (Edutopia)

Lesson Planning

• AFT Share My Lesson
  An online community where teachers can freely exchange lesson plans and ideas.
• NEA and BetterLesson Common Core Lesson Plans
  More than 3,000 lessons aligned to the Common Core State Standards developed by K–12 Master Teachers.
• Scholastic Common Core for Teachers
  Instructional programs, lesson plans, and booklists.
• HarperCollins Common Core
  Teaching resources aligned with quality fiction and nonfiction.
• LearnZillion Common Core Lesson Plans
  Video lessons, assessments, and progress reporting.
• EngageNY Curriculum Guides and Lesson Plans
• Achieve the Core Literacy in Practice

Classroom Video

• Common Core in Elementary School (Teaching Channel)
• Pathways to the Common Core: Videos from Inside Classrooms (Teachers College: The Reading and Writing Project)
• Common Core Key Shifts and Lesson Planning (America Achieves)
• ELL Classroom Video Modules (Colorín Colorado)

Special Topics in Reading and Writing

• Text Complexity (Text Project)
• 7 Actions that Teachers Can Take Right Now: Text Complexity (Text Project)
• The Text Complexity Multi-Index (Text Project)
• Benchmark Texts: Stepping Up Complexity (Text Project)
• Close Reading (Blog Digest) (Burkins and Yaris)
• Nonfiction for Kids

Recommended Blogs for Teachers

• Shanahan on Literacy
• Edutopia Blogs on Common Core Standards
• Core Connections
• Teaching the Core: A Non-Freaked Out Approach to the Common Core State Standards

For librarians

The Basics

• Common Core resources for librarians (ALSC)
• AASL Learning Standards and Common Core State Standards Crosswalk (American Association of School Librarians)
• Common Core in the Public Library? (ALSC Blog)
• The new standards require that public and school librarians pull together (School Library Journal)
• All Aboard! Implementing Common Core offers school librarians an opportunity to take the lead (School Library Journal)
• For Libraries, the Common Core Presents Extraordinary Opportunity (Publishers Weekly)

Programming and Support for Teachers, Parents and Kids

• School Library Journal: On Common Core Webcast Series
• School Library Journal Resources on the Common Core
• Candlewick Press Common Core Classroom
• Nonfiction Notes from the Horn Book
• Nonfiction for Kids

Recommended Blogs for Librarians

• ALSC Blog
• Common Core in Real Libraries
• The Uncommon Corps
• I.N.K.: Interesting Nonfiction for Kids

For parents

The Basics

• Ten Things Parents Should Know About the Common Core State Standards
• What Parents Need to Know About Common Core State Standards (in English and Spanish)
• PTA Parent Guides to Student Success (in English and Spanish)
• Council of the Great City Schools Parent Roadmaps: English Language Arts (in English and Spanish)
• Parent Guides and Toolkits in Multiple Languages
• EngageNY Common Core Toolkit for Parents and Families

Literacy Activities at Home (in English and Spanish)

• How Parents Can Support the Common Core Reading Standards
• How Parents Can Support the Common Core Writing Standards
• Mission Critical: Reading Together to Build Critical Thinking Skills
• How to Read Nonfiction Text
• Getting the Most Out of Nonfiction Reading Time

English language learners

The Basics

• Application of the Standards to English Language Learners
• What Does the Common Core Mean for English Language Learners? (Colorín Colorado)
• PTA Parent Guides to Student Success (in English and Spanish)
• Parent Guides and Toolkits in Multiple Languages

In the Classroom (from our sister site Colorín Colorado)

• Classroom Video Modules
• Common Core Lesson Plans for ELLs
• Common Core Assessment and ELLs
• Blog: Common Core and ELLs

A Teachers’ Guide to the Common Core

This AFT document was designed to support teachers of ELLs and students with disabilities as they seek to help their students meet new, higher standards in English language arts.

Children with disabilities

The Basics

• Application of the Standards to Children with Disabilities
• Common Core State Standards and Students with Disabilities
• Common Core Perspective: The Positive Impact for Kids With LD
• CCSS: The Promise and the Peril for Students with Disabilities
• A Special Educator Shares Her Perspective on the Common Core State Standards

In the Classroom

• Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and the Common Core State Standards
  All students can benefit from applying UDL to curriculum design and instructional practice. (National Center on Universal Design for Learning)
• A Guide to Common Core State Standards-Based IEPs

Assessment

In 2010 the US Department of Education awarded two contracts to two different consortia to develop two sets of assessment systems for states to choose from as a part of their implementation of the CCSS. The Educational Testing Service Center for K-12 Assessment and Performance Management is now working with Smarter Balanced and PARCC on the new systems of assessment.

PARCC: Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers

The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) is a consortium of states working together to develop a common set of K-12 assessments in English and math anchored in what it takes to be ready for college and careers. Learn more >

Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium

The SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium is a state-led consortium working to develop next-generation assessments that are aligned to the Common Core State Standards and that accurately measure student progress toward college and career readiness. Learn more >

See also Topics A-Z: Common Core Standards