	Frequently Asked Questions

This report addresses frequently asked questions related to the Common Core State Standards and federal involvement with the standards. For a more detailed discussion of these issues, please see CRS Report R43711, Common Core State Standards and Assessments: Background and Issues , by [author name scrubbed] and [author name scrubbed]. What NCLB requirements apply to academic standards and assessments? The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) required states participating in ESEA Title I-A to:
develop and adopt content and performance standards and aligned assessments in the subjects of mathematics and reading in each of grades 3-8 and for at least one grade in grades 10-12 by the end of the 2005-2006 school year, assuming certain minimum levels of annual federal funding were provided for state assessment grants; adopt content and performance standards in science (at three grade levels—grades 3-5, 6-9, and 10-12) by the end of the 2005-2006 school year; and adopt assessments in science (at three grade levels) by the end of the 2007-2008 school year. What are the Common Core State Standards? However, according to CCSSI, a state is considered to have adopted the Common Core State Standards only if (1) a state adopts 100% of the standards in ELA and in mathematics (word for word), "with the option of adding up to 15% of standards on top of the core" standards, and (2) the body authorizing standards in the state has taken formal action to adopt and implement the standards. How many states have adopted the Common Core State Standards? As of August 2014, 43 states, the District of Columbia, 4 outlying areas, and the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) had adopted the Common Core State Standards. This total does not include Indiana and Oklahoma who recently became the first states to adopt and subsequently discontinue use of the Common Core State Standards. What role has the federal government played in the development, adoption, and implementation of the Common Core State Standards? While the federal government did not have a role in developing the Common Core State Standards, the Obama Administration has taken three major steps to incentivize the adoption and implementation of the standards: (1) Race to the Top (RTT) State Grants, (2) RTT Assessment Grants, and (3) ESEA flexibility package. Under the program, over $4 billion in competitive grants were awarded to 18 states and the District of Columbia. Do states have to adopt and implement the Common Core State Standards? What is the difference between standards and curriculum? Will the Common Core State Standards lead to national standards, national assessments, or a national curriculum? How do the Common Core State Standards relate to teacher evaluation? Are there legislative decisions approaching that are potentially relevant to the Common Core State Standards?
Over the last two decades, there has been interest in developing federal policies that focus on student outcomes in elementary and secondary education. Perhaps most prominently, the enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB; P.L. 107-110), which amended and reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), marked a dramatic expansion of the federal government's role in supporting standards-based instruction and test-based accountability, thereby increasing the federal government's involvement in decisions that directly affect teaching and learning.
Under the ESEA, states are required to have standards in reading and mathematics for specified grade levels in order to receive funding under Title I-A of the ESEA. In response to this requirement, all 50 states and the District of Columbia have adopted and implemented standards that meet the requirements of the ESEA. Since the ESEA was last comprehensively reauthorized by NCLB, recent developments have taken place that have possibly played a role in the selection of reading and mathematics standards by states: (1) the development and release of the Common Core State Standards; (2) the Race to the Top (RTT) State Grant competition and RTT Assessment Grants competition; and (3) the ESEA flexibility package provided by the Department of Education (ED) to states with approved applications. As of June 2014, 43 states, the District of Columbia, 4 outlying areas, and the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) had at some point adopted the Common Core State Standards. Indiana, Oklahoma, and South Carolina recently became the first states to adopt and subsequently discontinue use of the Common Core State Standards.
These three changes have substantially changed the elementary and secondary education federal policy landscape. This short report answers common questions related to K-12 accountability provisions under the ESEA, Common Core State Standards, RTT, and the ESEA flexibility package, including:
What NCLB requirements apply to academic standards and assessments? What are the Common Core State Standards? How many states have adopted the Common Core State Standards? What role has the federal government played in the development, adoption, and implementation of the Common Core State Standards? Do states have to adopt and implement the Common Core State Standards? What is the difference between standards and curriculum? Will the Common Core State Standards lead to national standards, national assessments, or a national curriculum? How do the Common Core State Standards relate to teacher evaluation? Are there legislative decisions approaching that are potentially relevant to the Common Core State Standards?
A more detailed discussion of the Common Core State Standards and their relationship to RTT grants and the ESEA flexibility package is available in CRS Report R43711, Common Core State Standards and Assessments: Background and Issues, by [author name scrubbed] and [author name scrubbed].