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The goal of the Common Core State Standards is to focus on the knowledge and skills needed by all students so they can be successful in college and careers, including students receiving special services. This publication illustrates five key elements from the International Center’s Special Education Institute, which says that schools must support the achievement of students receiving special education services through the following: 1. ownership – understanding among staff that students receiving special education services are the responsibility of all;
2. high expectations – understanding by administrators, faculty, and students that all students will be challenged and expected to perform to the best of their ability;
3. intervention systems – policies, procedures, and protocols to ensure that struggling learners meet academic and/or behavioral expectations as measured by improved performance;
4. inclusion/collaborative teaching – teaching methodologies in which students receiving special education services are included in the general education classrooms and have access to both content and special education expertise; and
5. organization/professional development – successful programs for all struggling learners depend on alignment of and access to standards-based curriculum, instruction, and assessment and data-driven professional development to support teachers in achieving goals.