In July 2003, the governor and superintendent asked Achieve to review the state's English language arts and math content expectations by comparing them to the best standards from other states and nations and providing recommendations for improvement. Achieve suggested concrete ways in which the state could improve the clarity, specificity, grade-to-grade progression and rigor of its standards. Michigan acted on many of Achieve's recommendations and produced a stronger set of standards. Both English language arts and math, for example, feature a matrix structure that adds specificity to the standards — increasing their clarity and utility. Another notable feature in the English language arts standards is the way in which Michigan uses multiple resources to spell out precisely what is meant by grade-level reading.

Perhaps of most importance, the standards have been made more rigorous — Michigan now expects its students to reach a level of achievement comparable to that required by Achieve's benchmarking standards in English language arts and math.