ABSTRACT
This chapter will focus on the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and, in particular, the English Language Arts (ELA) standards. The CCSS represent the latest in a history of massive attempts in the United States to write commonly agreed-upon standards for the key discipline areas of Language Arts and Mathematics (CCSSO, 2010a, 2010b). The chapter will start with a definition of standards, explain what the new CCSS is, look at the positives and negatives of CCSS, and end by comparing them with and end by comparing them with similar efforts to introduce standards for reading, writing, and mathematics in both New Zealand and Australia.
