In an effort to balance common academic outcomes, as measured by common course finals, with faculty's individual teaching styles, Johnson County Community College (Kansas) mathematics faculty developed "core components" for 10 of the mathematics courses offered in Spring 1995. The core components were designed by faculty teaching each course, and were deemed essential elements of the course. Additionally, all faculty teaching each course agree to grade the core components identically and include assessment of them as part of course final examinations. The students' core component scores were then compared with their final grades. Results indicated a positive correlation between student scores on core components and course grades as a whole, suggesting that this approach could help in balancing common academic outcomes with instructional freedom without weakening academic standards. However, several other issues arose that require further study, including use of review questions on material covered in prerequisite courses, lower correlations in some courses, concern about the core components' ability to meet final exam objectives, possible bias in scoring, and potential for grade inflation. (Author/MSE)