As the most concerted venture to craft common academic standards in more than a decade rolls forward, the process has drawn criticism from those who say too much of the nitty-gritty work is taking place behind closed doors. The organizations leading the effort--the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), both based in Washington--have assigned a pair of working groups to oversee the initial writing of the documents. Those two panels have produced draft standards for college and career readiness in mathematics and English-language arts. More-detailed guidelines for grades K-12 are expected later. The deliberations have so far been deemed "confidential" and closed to the public by the NGA and CCSSO, although these groups contend that there will be several opportunities for public input in the weeks and months ahead. The NGA and CCSSO want to produce documents based on "evidence," shaped by model academic standards and research about important college and workforce skills. The end goal is to create a "structured process," in which views of the standards are informed by research. NGA and CCSSO officials expect that those drafting the standards will receive valuable insight from the feedback groups, state officials, and the public, which the working groups would take seriously.