To help states work toward the rigorous high school math goals set forth by the American Diploma Project, Achieve has created a set of expectations that comprise the mathematical skills and knowledge that students will need to learn from kindergarten through 8th grade. These benchmarks can serve as a model for states as they work to strengthen their own standards or develop curricular frameworks. They also can serve as a basis for teacher professional development and provide a strong scaffold for helping assessment developers to focus on what is most important at each level.

The K–8 expectations began in February 2002, when Achieve published Foundations for Success, which defined the math that students need to master by the end of 8th grade to be prepared for challenging courses in high school. These expectations for the middle grades were developed by Achieve's Mathematics Advisory Panel, a diverse group of university mathematicians, mathematics educators, and state and local supervisors of mathematics education. Subsequent to the release of Foundations, Achieve worked to backmap expectations for grades K–5 to provide the current set of K–8 benchmarks.