Education policymakers and educators in Alabama are committed to improving the state's public education system to ensure that students gain the knowledge and skills they need to graduate from high school ready for real life. The state is on the path to implementing higher academic standards--the College and Career Ready Standards--which lay a foundation to ensure that classroom instruction across Alabama provides students with real world skills and knowledge in reading, math, and writing. There has been a large amount of conflicting information distributed about Alabama's College and Career Ready Standards based on the Common Core State Standards. This brief accomplishes the following: (1) answers numerous questions and corrects misinformation that is being spread about Alabama's College and Career Ready Standards and the Common Core State Standards; (2) clarifies the role of academic standards in Alabama and the recent adoption of the College and Career Ready Standards; (3) includes information on the committees of educators and experts that reviewed the standards with great care prior to implementation, the difference between standards and curriculum, and how the standards build a more foundational path to success with ACT assessments and college/career preparedness.