The following study closely details how the East Moriches Union Free School District made the transition to college and career-ready standards (CCSS), the impact that change had on reading scores for students, and the alteration in attitudes of parents and teachers to the shift in standards. Specifically, this report focuses on the male students who began Kindergarten in 2011, 2012, and 2013, as these were the cohorts that experienced the curriculum shift to one that was fully aligned to Common Core State Standards (CCSS). When appropriate, these cohorts were compared to older groups to establish a baseline. Male students were a focus for this study because they lagged behind their female counterparts in reading and ELA scores for many years and anecdotally seemed to have shown improvement and increased interest in the subject after changes to align ELA curriculum to common core state standards according to their teachers. This case analysis shows that despite some initial concerns and problems surrounding the changes in standards, assessments, and curriculum, the teachers and district successfully moved beyond disagreements and missteps toward an environment where reading was continuously encouraged and students visibly improved. As detailed in the report, there are some caveats to this conclusion, but the consensus remains the same: In this case study, an alignment of curriculum, materials, and instruction to common core state standards (CCSS) lead to improvement in student reading and literacy ability.