{
  "id": "R43728",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "R43728",
  "active": true,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 434333,
      "date": "2014-09-15",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-06T20:04:49.653716",
      "title": "Common Core State Standards: Frequently Asked Questions",
      "summary": "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\u2019s role in supporting standards-based instruction and test-based accountability, thereby increasing the federal government\u2019s involvement in decisions that directly affect teaching and learning. \nUnder 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.\nThese 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:\nWhat NCLB requirements apply to academic standards and assessments?\nWhat are the Common Core State Standards?\nHow many states have adopted the Common Core State Standards?\nWhat role has the federal government played in the development, adoption, and implementation of the Common Core State Standards?\nDo states have to adopt and implement the Common Core State Standards?\nWhat is the difference between standards and curriculum?\nWill the Common Core State Standards lead to national standards, national assessments, or a national curriculum?\nHow do the Common Core State Standards relate to teacher evaluation?\nAre there legislative decisions approaching that are potentially relevant to the Common Core State Standards? \nA 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 Rebecca R. Skinner and Jody Feder.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": true,
      "formats": [
        {
          "format": "HTML",
          "encoding": "utf-8",
          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R43728",
          "sha1": "405fb89c83cc5282b978f1cfbb7b3d50740c97c5",
          "filename": "files/20140915_R43728_405fb89c83cc5282b978f1cfbb7b3d50740c97c5.html",
          "images": null
        },
        {
          "format": "PDF",
          "encoding": null,
          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R43728",
          "sha1": "b1d3bd419511ca64b888bdbe79c5f0dec107f183",
          "filename": "files/20140915_R43728_b1d3bd419511ca64b888bdbe79c5f0dec107f183.pdf",
          "images": null
        }
      ],
      "topics": [
        {
          "source": "IBCList",
          "id": 2487,
          "name": "Elementary and Secondary Education"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "topics": []
}