In July 2010, the District of Columbia adopted the Common Core State Standards. In doing so, the District of Columbia joined 42 other states in formally signing on to the state-led initiative, which was coordinated by the National Governor’s Association (NGA)  and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO).

With the aim of ensuring students across the country graduate from high school prepared to succeed in post secondary courses and workforce training programs, the Common Core State Standards were created in collaboration with teachers, school administrators, and experts and define the knowledge and skills students should acquire in their pre-K through grade 12 academic careers. The grade-level standards:

• Are aligned with college and work expectations;
• Are clear, understandable, and consistent;
• Include rigorous content and application of knowledge through high-order skills;
• Build upon strengths and lessons of current state standards;
• Are informed by other top performing countries, so that all students are prepared to succeed in our global economy and society; and
• Are evidence-based.

In the District of Columbia, the new standards are beginning to be implemented in the 2011-12 school year, and will be fully implemented in the 2014-15 school year.

To see the alignment between the Common Core State Standards and the previous District of Columbia reading and mathematics standards, OSSE has created crosswalks for both reading and math. The crosswalks can be found here:

• Reading Crosswalk [Excel]
• Math Crosswalk [Excel]