Follow @StateEdWatch



The Common Core State Standards have been around for just over five years. But many of you might still be stumped by this question: Just how many states have adopted the common core?

My colleague Catherine Gewertz and I have just provided you an answer by updating our map of which states have adopted (and are using) the standards. Right now, we count 43 states and the District of Columbia that adopted and have maintained their adoptions of the common core:

It's been a little hard to keep track recently. And even in states that have officially dropped the common core, it's not clear the standards are truly gone. Indiana replaced the common core last year with standards that are quite similar. South Carolina adopted new standards earlier this year that are also closely aligned with the common core. Then there's Oklahoma, which dumped the common core overboard and reverted to its prior standards, although it's still working on creating a new set of standards for the 2016-17 academic year.

Then there are the states that are reviewing the common core in some capacity, like Missouri, North Carolina, and Tennessee. But because we don't know what the outcomes of those reviews will be just yet, and because it's not at all clear from the legislation leading to the reviews that common-core repeal is what lawmakers had in mind, we've left those states as common-core adopters.

So unlike the dwindling list of states that have stuck by the common-core-aligned tests from the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) and Smarter Balanced, the vast majority of states are sticking by the common core for now, despite several repeal efforts in states this year.

Don't miss another State EdWatch post. Sign up here to get news alerts in your email inbox. And make sure to follow @StateEdWatch on Twitter for the latest news from state K-12 policy and politics.