For at least the last two decades, public policy related to education equity in this country has been focused on very modest targets.  In the late 1980s, the report A Nation at Risk led to state-driven efforts to pass minimum competency legislation, essentially learning basic skills in core academic subjects.  The 1990s gave rise to the so-called standards-based reform movement with an emphasis on specific learning outcomes in key content areas.  Proficiency was the new target. The Common Core State Standards are a welcome departure from these uninspired targets in that these new standards focus on much more ambitious learning outcomes.