What are the Common Core standards?

The Common Core State Standards define what students should know and be able to do in Math and English Language Arts at each grade level. They are adopted by the majority of U.S. states.

A standard like 7.NS.A.2 isn't a chapter or a topic — it's a specific skill: "Apply and extend previous understandings of multiplication and division and of fractions to multiply and divide rational numbers."

How the standards are organized

1

Grade Grade 7

The grade level

2

Domain The Number System (NS)

A broad category of related math concepts

3

Cluster Apply and extend previous understandings of operations

A group of related standards within a domain

4

Standard 7.NS.A.2

A specific skill or concept — the unit that teachers teach, assessments test, and K12worX organizes around

When someone says "teach to the standards," they mean this hierarchy — and the individual standard at the bottom is what gets taught, tested, and reported on.

Why this matters for teaching

Standards define what to teach, but most resources aren't organized around them. Textbooks are organized by chapter. Khan Academy is organized by topic. The gap between "I need to teach 7.NS.A.2" and "here are materials for 7.NS.A.2" is where teachers, tutors, and parents lose time.

Who works with the standards

Teachers

Need to teach specific standards and track which ones they've covered. Materials organized by chapter don't match — they need materials organized by standard.

See how K12worX helps teachers

Tutors

Work with students from different schools and different textbooks. The standards are the common thread — the one framework that applies regardless of curriculum.

See how K12worX helps tutors

Parents

Want to help with homework but don't know what their child is learning or how to explain it. The standard code on the assignment is the key to finding the right lesson.

See how K12worX helps parents

What K12worX provides

For every Common Core Math standard in Grades 6 and 7, K12worX provides lesson slides and practice exercises — organized by standard, not by chapter or topic.

53
Common Core standards
66
Lesson slide decks
55
Exercise sets
100%
Grades 6–7 coverage

Free to use, no account required.

Browse the standards

See what standard-by-standard teaching materials look like — pick a grade and explore.

Choose your grade: