Gates Money and Advocacy Key to Rapid Rise of Common Core

Amid the growing national debate over Common Core, The Washington Post examines the role of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in the rapid, nearly nationwide adoption of the state-level education standards.

The foundation gave more than $200-million to help develop unified standards for skills students should acquire at each grade level and as well as working to promote and build political support for the plan. Within two years of a key 2008 meeting between Bill Gates and two longtime advocates for national standards, 45 states and the District of Columbia had opted to implement Common Core.

The quick and often quiet institution of the standards has generated a political backlash, particularly on the right but also including some liberal and teachers’ groups. Some critics say Microsoft stands to benefit financially from the widespread adoption of Common Core, a claim Mr. Gates denied in an interview for the Post article about his education efforts.