Implementation of college- and career-readiness standards is some of the most important work currently underway in states to improve public education and student achievement. This report provides a summary of findings from SREB's research into the efforts of 15 states--12 in the Southern Educational Research Board (SREB) region--to support implementation of the Common Core State Standards. The goal of the research was to document the steps states have taken and to highlight exemplary efforts in order to provide feedback to states to inform their drive for continuous improvement. SREB researchers and consultants reviewed publicly available information on state efforts and conducted extensive interviews with key leaders and educators in each state. This summary report is accompanied by five separate reports that each present detailed profiles of the states' efforts in five related areas: Timeline and Approach to Standards and Assessments (ED559250), Common Core-Aligned Teaching Resources (ED559258), Professional Development (ED559252), Evaluation of Teachers and Leaders (ED559254), and Accountability (ED559256). This Executive Summary presents a synopsis of the findings for each of the five topic areas states need to move their work forward.