On June 2, 2010, a group of educators and public officials met at Peachtree Ridge High School in Suwanee, Georgia, to unveil something new: a set of standards for English language arts and mathematics intended to be common for all states. These standards were meant to replace the standards states had developed on their own over the past two decades, and were designed to spell out the academic knowledge and skills all students need at each grade level to be ready for college and careers by the time they leave high school. By the end of 2010, six months after they were released, 43 states and the District of Columbia--which collectively educate more than 85 percent of U.S. students--had adopted them as their state standards. How did this happen? How did nearly every state agree to set the same, high expectations for student learning? This article will describe briefly the history of the standards movement over the past two decades, examine how the movement for common standards emerged, and look ahead to the challenges states face in putting the new system in place. (Contains 4 endnotes.)