In response to concerns over the educational achievement of students in the United States, individual states are establishing sets of learning standards defined by grade level or clusters of grades. Curriculum and assessment systems are then organized around these expectations in the core subject areas of English, mathematics, science, and social studies.

The following sites provide resources related to state educational standards for Illinois and its five contiguous states.

• Illinois - The Illinois Learning Standards (ILS) define what students in all Illinois public schools should know and be able to do as a result of their elementary and secondary schooling in the following subjects: English language arts, mathematics, social science, physical development and health, fine arts, and foreign languages.  In addition, Performance descriptors and Teacher's Guide to Classroom Assessments supplement the ILS standards.

• Indiana - The Indiana Academic Standards cover the subject areas of English/language arts, mathematics, science and social studies.  These subject areas are further subdivided by K-8, high school, teacher's edition (K-12) and other standards.  The Indiana Academic Standards Resources site provides teaching resources to help students meet the expectations set by Indiana's Academic Standards.  The Indiana Academic Standards Assessments provide end-of-course tests of what students know and are able to do after taking specific Core 40 courses. They are aligned with Indiana’s Academic Standards adopted by the Indiana State Board of Education.

 
• Iowa   - standards are not currently available on the web.

• Kentucky - Kentucky's Student Performance Standards define specific performance levels as well as the level of student work that matches each performance category in each content area and grade level.  In addition, Kentucky's Core Content for Assessment tool represents the content identified as essential for all students and will be included on the state assessment. This Assessement was designed for use with Kentucky's Program of Studies and outlines the minimum content required for all students before graduating from Kentucky high schools.

• Missouri - The Show-Me Standards were developed as a result of the Outstanding Schools Act of 1993 to ensure that "graduates of Missouri’s public schools have the knowledge, skills and competencies essential to leading productive, fulfilling and successful lives as they continue their education, enter the workforce and assume their civic responsibilities."  Missouri's academic standards are grouped around four educational goals and their knowledge standards encompass the subject areas of communication, fine arts, health/physical education, mathematics, science, and social studies.

• Wisconsin - The Wisconsin Model Academic Standards were issued and approved under Executive Order 326 in 1998. The state provides core standards in the subject areas of: English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. Each core standard web page also includes content standards for each subject at grade levels 4, 8 and 12 as well as glossaries and resource lists.

The Achieve State Standards Database is a searchable online collection of academic content standards and benchmarks for K–12 education. Users can subscribe to this tool for a fee to analyze and compare standards from states or countries by subject, grade level, key word or reference category.