• The Shifts

    How are college- and career-ready standards, including the Common Core, different from other academic standards? The Shifts provide a frame that describes how these standards raise expectations across multiple areas of students’ educational experience including instructional materials, classroom practice, and assessment. The Shifts illustrate how college- and career-ready standards contribute to transformative changes in the classroom that will better prepare students for opportunities after high school.

  • Learn more about the Shifts.

    Professional development modules to better understand the Shifts

    Learn More

  • Shifts in ELA / Literacy

    1. Complexity: Practice regularly with complex text and its academic language.

    2. Evidence: Ground reading, writing, and speaking in evidence from text, both literary and informational.

    3. Knowledge: Build knowledge through content-rich nonfiction.

  • Shifts in Mathematics

    1. Focus strongly where the standards focus.

    2. Coherence: Think across grades and link to major topics within grades.

    3. Rigor: In major topics, pursue conceptual understanding, procedural skill and fluency, and application with equal intensity.

  • Shifts Quick-Reference Card (wallet-size)

    Quick reference card summarizing the biggest changes in math and ELA / literacy.

  • College- and Career-Ready Shifts at a Glance

    A document explaining the biggest changes in mathematics and ELA / Literacy. 2-pg PDF.