From the ECS State Policy Database: Standards--Common Core State Standards - This policy database—updated weekly—is made possible by your state's fiscal support of the Education Commission of the States....

Strength in Numbers: State Spending on K-12 Assessment Systems - Chingos addresses concerns about costs of moving from NCLB assessments to Common Core assessments. Nationwide, states spend some $1.7 billion on tests, which amounts to only one-quarter of one percent of annual K-12 spending, he writes. To pour that into teacher salaries would only increase them by $550 a year. Instead Chingos suggests states seek efficiencies by collaborating on assessments, sharing fixed costs over a larger number of students and using that market power to get test-makers to divulge more about pricing.(Matthew M. Chingos, December 2012) ...

Plans to Adopt and Implement Common Core State Standards in the Southeast Region States - Based on interviews with state officials in the six Southeast Region states, this study describes state processes for adopting the Common Core State Standards (a common set of expectations across states for what students are expected to know in English language arts and math) and plans for implementing the common standards and aligning state assessment systems to them. (REL Southeast, 2012)...

Preparing for Change: A National Perspective on Common Core State Standards Implementation Planning - To gain insight into the steps states are taking to implement the Common Core State Standards, Education First and the Editorial Projects in Education (EPE) Research Center examined state planning activities in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia. This study is intended to inform state policymakers, SEA staff, and other stakeholders interested in better understanding the progress states have made toward implementing common standards. (Education First and Editorial Projects in Education, Inc., 2012)...

Year Two of Implementing the Common Core State Standards: States' Progress and Challenges - The Center on Education Policy conducted a survey of deputy superintendents or their designees to gather information about states’ strategies, policies, and challenges during the second year of implementing the Common Core State Standards. Findings indicate that States view the standards as more rigorous than their previous standards and are making progress in transitioning to the new standards. But states face challenges in fully implementing the standards, particularly in finding adequate funding. The majority of the CCSS-adopting states do not expect to fully implement the new standards until school year 2014-15 or later. (Center on Education Policy, 2012)...

Common Core State Standards: Progress and Challenges in School Districts' Implementation - Implementing the common core state standards in the adopting states will require considerable work by school districts as well as state education agencies. The majority of districts in the adopting states expect these standards to be more rigorous than the ones they are replacing and anticipate that the standards will help to improve students' skills in math and English language arts. Substantially revised curriculum materials and fundamental changes in instruction will also be required. (Nancy Kober and Diane Stark Rentner, Center on Education Policy, September 2011)...

The State of State U.S. History Standards 2011 - Reviewers evaluated state standards for U.S. history in grades K-12. What they found is discouraging: Twenty-eight states—a majority—deserve D or F grades for their academic standards in this key subject. The average grade across all states is a dismal D. Among the few bright spots, South Carolina earns a straight A for its standards and six other jurisdictions garner A-minuses. A total of 19 states received F. (Thomas B. Fordham Institute, February 2011)...

States' Progress and Challenges in Implementing Common Core State Standards - To learn more about states' progress and plans for implementing the common core state standards, the Center on Education Policy surveyed state deputy superintendents of education or their designees in October and November 2010. Responses were received from 42 states and the District of Columbia, which is counted as a state in the tallies in the report. The authors draw the conclusion that the move to implementation of the common core state standards will take a number of years. (Center on Education Policy, January 2011)...