1) The U.S. ranked 30th in math literacy, 20th in science, and 14th in reading on the international PISA test.
2) Says the U.S. Department of Education, only 25% of our 52 million K-12 students are performing on par with those in the highest-performing countries.
3) 45 states and D.C. have adopted the Common Core Standards, but 52% of parents have heard little or nothing about them. However, when given a brief description, about 50% say education quality will improve, 11% say it will worsen, and 27% say nothing will change.
4) 20 states are implementing the Common Core for the first time this year; 7 states and D.C. have already done so. Minnesota is only implementing the English standards.
5) Alaska, Nebraska, Texas, and Virginia have not adopted the Common Core Standards.
6) 34 states are having trouble finding adequate resources to implement the Common Core; 32 find it challenging to develop systems to evaluate how well teachers are using the standards.