While flipping through the Berkshire Eagle last week, I came across an Associated Press story about a project titled the Common Core State Standards Initiative. I was baffled. Common state standards? What could this be all about?

The story explained that the initiative is state-led and is being coordinated by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers. Currently, 48 states, two territories and the District of Columbia have joined the process, with Texas and Alaska refusing to participate. The idea is to create a common set of standards, initially just for English language arts and mathematics, that "seek to provide a clear and consistent framework to prepare our children for college and the workforce," according to corestandards.org, the initiative's Web site.

The project involved the creation of college- and career-readiness standards for English language arts and mathematics, which were released for public comment in September 2009.

Now the draft of the K-12 Common Core State Standards based on those readiness standards has been released. The public is invited to comment on them through Friday, April 2. (Visit the Web site to post a comment.)

I briefly viewed the document, but there was so much material it was impossible for me to figure it all out in the short time frame I had before my column deadline. What I did confirm, by visiting the mass.gov Web site, is

that Massachusetts is on board with the idea, although the state has not committed to adopting the final version of these new common standards.

As you may or may not know, Massachusetts already has its own set of standards, called the Massachusetts