As of this writing, 45 United States and four territories have adopted the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). The quick implementation on the part of state policymakers is a marked response to the growing demand for career and college ready high school graduates. Current figures suggest that over the next 15 years the need for post-secondary educated workers will out-pace the graduation rates of post-secondary institutions (Carnevale, 2010, p.16). Among the many expectations of this growing workforce is more information literate employees. This literature review explores the reasoning behind the shift to common educational standards and asks the questions: What potential is there for the CCSS to affect the information literacy skills of K-12 students and what ramifications might this have on post-secondary information literacy instruction?