Washington ( CNN ) -- Setting national standards for U.S. students has been tried in the past without success -- but a new state-led effort is gaining momentum , according to an official of an educational think tank that compiled a nationwide study comparing standards . The new benchmarks -- called Common Core Standards -- are a move initiated at the state level to come up with a set of standards that will be used by all states to create cross-border consistency in what students will be expected to know . In June , the Common Core recommendations were released to the public by the National Governors Association and state education heads . So far 26 states have signed on to the national Common Core Standards while several have opted not to use the standards . Each state currently evaluates its elementary and secondary students according to its own state benchmarks , which vary greatly across state lines . `` You look at these standards and most Americans would say , 'Sure , this is what we want our students to know , ' '' says Fordham Institute Vice President Mike Petrilli . Since the Common Core Standards are part of a state-led effort , Petrilli says they have avoided the debate about the federal government pushing standards on the rest of the country . Also , the writers of the recommendations have done `` a pretty good job of putting together good standards , '' according to Petrilli . Read the Common Core Standards . The Washington-based Fordham Institute on Wednesday released results of its study comparing the standards-of-learning of all 50 states and the District of Columbia with the Common Core Standards that have been proposed for the whole country . Additionally , the study graded the Common Core Standards themselves . The Common Core Standards overall get a B+ in English language arts and an A- in mathematics , according to the institute . On the more local level , California , the District of Columbia and Indiana received the highest marks in English language arts with more stringent standards than the national recommendations , according to the institute 's study , while 37 states fell below the recommended Common Core standards . In mathematics , there were no states that had standards that were clearly better than the Common Core Standards , but California , the District of Columbia , Florida , Indiana and Washington were close to the mark . The report found that , overall , the Common Core Standards scored well in clarity and content . It will take several years for plans to be put in place for the states to actually start testing students under national guidelines . The Massachusetts State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education signed onto the Common Core Standards on Wednesday . The high-profile vote was made after three hours of public comment that included a gubernatorial candidate who spoke against the adoption and two former commissioners of education that spoke for the change . In the education community , Massachusetts is considered to have high state benchmarks already , so there was a question as to whether or not they should alter their current criteria . Republican gubernatorial candidate Charlie Baker said that `` tinkering with this proven track record makes no sense . '' But State Education Secretary Paul Reville said , `` All along , the conversation about Common Core has been about the Commonwealth seizing the opportunity to improve upon our already high standards . ''
A state-led effort has created proposed national standards for U.S. students . So far , 26 states have signed on the national Common Core Standards . The goal is to make sure that all children in grades 3 through 8 are taught math and English at grade level by 2015.