Inside Heather Brown's Woodstock High School English class, students have stood in front of the class to debate and practice the parliamentary process. In Bethany Hall's math class, students had to present solutions to problems they solved and defend their process and solution to the class.

Speaking in front of other students, and defending answers and positions, is just one of the new requirements of the Common Core standards being implemented by school districts in Illinois.

In 2009, governors and state education commissioners from 48 states, two territories and the District of Columbia committed to developing a common core of English standards and math standards for students in kindergarten through 12th grade.