Kentucky has been a leader in the movement to more rigorous college and career ready standards to support their students' success in the 21st century. Kentucky was the first state to adopt new college and career ready standards (CCRS)--termed the Kentucky Core Academic Standards. Many of Kentucky's districts have moved proactively and strategically to meet the challenge of more rigorous expectations, and to facilitate educators' and students' transition to the new demands. All students are to be on a trajectory to graduate high school, and should be prepared for college and career success. Basic skills have given way to goals for deeper learning, where students are expected to apply, reason with, communicate, and use their knowledge to solve complex problems. This brief summarizes early evidence on the success of two tools Kentucky districts have used to support their teachers' transition to these more demanding goals: Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC), and Math Design Collaborative (MDC). LDC and MDC tools have been designed and implemented to embody the key shifts in teaching and learning that the new standards demand. Teachers engage in new pedagogy, and address relevant learning goals of the Kentucky Core Academic Standards through the implementation of these tools. A brief background on the two tools and the evaluation methodology are provided, as well as the findings for each intervention and the implications of findings across the two studies. The study is based on a limited sample of schools and teachers in select subjects and grade levels who participated in the piloting of the tools. These included eighth grade social studies/history and science teachers, and ninth grade Algebra 1 teachers who initiated their tool use during the 2010-11 or 2011-12 school years. Study results are based on data from the 2012-2013 school year.