The goal of the Standards is to help students across all states compete with other students on a national and global scale, and ultimately prepare all graduating high school students for a 2- or 4-year college program, or the workforce. Texas, Virginia, Alaska, and Nebraska are the only states that have not yet voluntarily adopted any of the Common Core Standards, while Minnesota has only adopted the English language arts standards, so for most U.S. children, this is the new reality in school. View this map to see when each state adopted, or will adopt the standards. In an effort to bring parents up to speed, most schools distribute a “Parents’ Guide” at the start of the school year when they’re implementing the Common Core to help explain new terminology and concepts that apply to children’s homework.