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"As states press hard to ensure that all students graduate from high school ready for college or good jobs, many are hobbled by the very accountability systems they designed to leverage improvement, according to a report released Monday. The new study, by Achieve, argues that in reporting K-12 performance to the public, states often aren't including factors that matter the most in college readiness, such as the proportion of students who are completing rigorous high school courses, how well students are accumulating credits toward graduation, and whether they're earning college credit while in high school."

Standards Alignment System - Comprehensive approach to support student acheivement across the Commonwealth of PA.

"he implementation of Common Core State Standards is intended to create change in our nation's public education system ... not put change in the pockets of the American publishing industry. "

"Common Core foes spreading misinformation, Duncan says. Education Secretary Arne Duncan planned a robust defense on Tuesday of the Common Core standards, new academic standards in reading and math that have been adopted by 45 states and D.C." The standards, which are rolling out in most states and will be in place by 2014, have been attacked in recent months by conservatives and tea party activists, who say they amount to a federal intrusion into local school systems. "

"Calculators. Protractors. Spreadsheets. Computer algebra systems. Dynamic geometry software. You might not realize it, but the Common Core State Standards for mathematics make explicit reference to the use of all these tools, and others, in learning math. I discovered this as I was gathering information for a recent Education Week story about calculator policies for the forthcoming common-core exams. It turns out that the standards have a lot to say about using technology."

"Teaching and assessing student work that addresses issues of global significance - around the world or in students' own backyards - are essential to a world-class education system. The global marketplace is real, and today's schools must prepare students to participate, interact, and thrive in it. The more our students know about recognizing the challenges and opportunities of an interconnected world, the better they will be able to work in it and improve it. Our students' well-being, the vitality of our communities, and the welfare of our nation depend on it."

"wenty-five states have joined together to create the Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC or Partnership). The goal is to create an assessment system and supporting tools that will help states dramatically increase the number of students who graduate high school ready for college and careers and provide students, parents, teachers and policymakers with the tools they need to help students - from grade three through high school - stay on track to graduate prepared. The Partnership will also develop formative tools for grades K-2."

"Gene Wilhoit served as chief state school officer in Arkansas and in Kentucky before the Council of Chief State School Officers asked him to assume the leadership of their association. Two decades earlier, Wilhoit had served as an active member of the board of an organization, the New Standards Project, that I had put together to develop new, internationally benchmarked student performance standards for the American states, along with a set of assessments set to those standards. After he took the helm as Executive Director of the CCSSO, Wilhoit led the successful joint effort of the country's chief state school officers and its governors to create the Common Core State Standards. In this multi-part interview, I talk with Wilhoit about why he thought it so important to create the standards and what he thinks will be needed to fully implement them. "