Forty-four states and the District of Columbia have adopted the Common Core State Standards in English language arts and mathematics. Despite initial enthusiasm, criticism of and outright opposition to the standards are beginning to arise. Tom Loveless, a senior fellow in the Brown Center on Education Policy at Brookings, explains how the Common Core came about, why some are opposed to it now, and what his research shows about its impact on student achievement. Show notes: • A Progress Report on the Common Core (Loveless)• Predicting the Effect of the Common Core State Standards on Student Achievement (Loveless, in 2012 Brown Center Report)• In Defense of the Common Core Standards (West and Bleiberg)• Common Core Aligned Assessments: You Get What You Pay For? (Brown Center event)• 3 Technical Choke Points that Could Sink the Common Core Tests (West and Bleiberg)• Standardized Testing and the Common Core (Brown Center event)• NAEP and the Common Core Standards (Loveless)• The Common Core State Standards Initiative