After the authors reviewed the "State of State Standards--and the Common Core--in 2010" they found that the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) were clearer and more rigorous than the English language arts (ELA) standards in 37 states and stronger than the math standards in 39 states. States were encouraged to adopt the CCSS. By 2013 the country was engulfed in a full-fledged culture war over the Common Core, with a loose coalition of populist conservatives teaming up with educational progressives in a push to dump the standards (and get out from under testing). Some states responded by "un-adopting" the Common Core; others tweaked, renamed, or rebranded them. But in general, the end of history was, alas, short-lived. Every state's academic standards need to be updated periodically to reflect the latest advances in content and pedagogy, as well as the lessons learned during their implementation. So the overarching goal of this report is to provide helpful guidance to states as they look to modernize their standards in the years ahead. Because many states have kept the CCSS (or a variant thereof), this report does not formally review standards in all fifty states. Instead, it focuses on the subset of states that have made the "most" substantive changes to the CCSS, as well as those that never adopted them in the first place. By taking a close look at the standards in these states, plus a fresh look at the CCSS, it seeks to identify those changes and ideas that are worthy of broader adoption, as well as mistakes to avoid. ["The State of State Standards Post-Common Core" was written with David Griffith and Victoria McDougald. Foreword and executive summary by Amber M. Northern and Michael J. Petrilli.]