On June 2, 2010, the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts/Literacy and Mathematics (CCSS) were released, and since then, over 45 states including New York have adopted the Common Core State Standards and are now working to implement the standards. Common Core State Standards were introduced by a council called The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). They state that with the introduction of the Common Core curriculum it will raise the achievement levels of the students across America. They also aim at getting students college and career ready by making clear, consistent guidelines for what every student should know and be able to do in math and English language arts from kindergarten through 12th Grade. These standards were drafted by teachers and experts from all over the country that are designed to ensure students are prepared for today's entry level careers. The Common Core Curriculum focuses on development of critical thinking and problem solving that the government believes are needed to be successful and competitive in the modern career world. The new standards also give the teacher a better way to evaluate the progress of her students through the regular standardized testing. This allows her to identify the students weak points in their learning and help them better understand those subjects. With all of the standardized testing schools could potentially be more competitive because they can see where they nationally rank compared to the other schools throughout the nation.
Although common core sounds like it would be a good thing to implement since the education system is currently failing the country and its students, it has not gone as good as the Government had hoped. There has been a lot of criticism coming from the several states that have adopted the Common Core Standards. For example states like Oklahoma and Indiana have already completely dropped Common Core Curriculum.