The Common Core State Standards are in place in forty-five states—and in many of those jurisdictions, educators are hard at work trying to bring them to life in their schools and classrooms. But how is implementation going so far? That’s what this new book explores in four “early-implementer” school systems. *Common Core in the Districts: An Early Look at Early Implementers* provides an in-depth examination of real educators as they earnestly attempt to put higher standards into practice. In short, districts are in the near-impossible situation of operationalizing new standards before high-quality curriculum and tests aligned to them are finished. Yet the clock is ticking, and the new tests and truly aligned textbooks are forthcoming. Today’s implementation is a bit like spring training, a time when focusing on the fundamentals, teamwork, and steady improvement is more important than the score.