Current News

According to the Maine Department of Education, the state's four-year graduation rate rose for the third consecutive year, climbing to 85.34 percent in the 2011-12 school year. The rate has climbed almost 5 percent since 2009 and edged up about 1.5 percent over the past year. The graduation rate was 91.5 percent for publicly funded private schools.

The Louisiana Department of Education has launched the interactive online Classroom Support Toolbox on Louisianabelieves.com to help school districts and educators prepare for the implementation of the Common Core State Standards.

Full implementation of the Common Core State Standards and assessments will begin in the 2014-15 school year, says the Florida Department of Education. Teachers in the state are making sure students are ready for success by incorporating innovative teaching techniques that support the new standards.

A report by the Colorado Department of Education and the Colorado Department of Higher Education reveals that 19 percent of the state's high school students took part in dual enrollment programs -- in which they are enrolled in at least one post-secondary level course at the same time as they attend high school -- during the 2011-12 school year.

At the Children's Museum of Phoenix, the Arizona Department of Education, the Arizona Head Start State Collaboration Office, and several foundations gathered to celebrate the state's selection as a "pacesetter" by the National Campaign for Grade Level Reading.

MetaMetrics has released a new Policy Brief titled Looking Worse Before We Look Better: Student Performance in a Common Core World. As states move from adoption of the Common Core State Standards to implementation, there are critical transitional steps that will loom large in the success or failure of this movement.

CCSSO Hosts Legislative Conference, March 17-19 in Washington, DC.

CCSSO has worked with a consortium of three states to develop an Online Professional Development Guide. The guide is aimed at meeting the needs for support of local educators as they transition to the Common Core State Standards.

First lady Michelle Obama, along with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, announced a new partnership with schools as part of her Let's Move! project.

An open letter from 73 business leaders appeared in the New York Times on February 12, 2013, outlining support for the Common Core State Standards.