Forty-one states have adopted the Common Core State Standards. Now, implementing the Standards--to realize their purpose of increasing the college and career readiness of high school graduates--takes on primary importance. This transition to implementation introduces a number of challenging questions: What is the baseline of student performance on the Common Core State Standards, and what reasonable expectations should individuals hold for students moving forward? What does student college and career readiness look like today through the lens of the Standards? This report offers a first look at student performance relative to the Common Core State Standards and college and career readiness. This report establishes a baseline of performance on the Standards by using a sample comprising a quarter-million typical high school students, and then discusses how states, districts, and schools can support the implementation of the Common Core State Standards going forward. The period between Common Core adoption and Common Core implementation offers an important opportunity to evaluate and reframe education policy and practice at all levels. This report hopes to provide information that stakeholders can use to understand the current state of college and career readiness of students and to begin implementing programs and policies that best support the Common Core. (Contains 2 figures and 1 note.)