diff --git a/examples/Console/TestRedis.cs b/examples/Console/TestRedis.cs
index 666f504d038..068f95bf1c4 100644
--- a/examples/Console/TestRedis.cs
+++ b/examples/Console/TestRedis.cs
@@ -95,9 +95,7 @@ private static void DoWork(IDatabase db, ActivitySource activitySource)
                 }
                 catch (ArgumentOutOfRangeException e)
                 {
-                    // Set status upon error
-                    activity.SetTag(SpanAttributeConstants.StatusCodeKey, (int)Status.Error.StatusCode);
-                    activity.SetTag(SpanAttributeConstants.StatusDescriptionKey, e.ToString());
+                    activity.SetStatus(Status.Error.WithDescription(e.ToString()));
                 }
 
                 // Annotate our activity to capture metadata about our operation
diff --git a/src/OpenTelemetry.Api/CHANGELOG.md b/src/OpenTelemetry.Api/CHANGELOG.md
index 61769a5206a..4a489ec7fbd 100644
--- a/src/OpenTelemetry.Api/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/src/OpenTelemetry.Api/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -2,6 +2,13 @@
 
 ## Unreleased
 
+* In order to align with the
+  [spec](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-specification/blob/master/specification/trace/api.md#set-status)
+  the `Status` (otel.status_code) tag (added on `Activity` using the `SetStatus`
+  extension) will now be set as the `Unset`, `Error`, or `Ok` string
+  representation instead of the `0`, `1`, or `2` integer representation.
+  ([#1579](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-dotnet/pull/1579))
+
 ## 1.0.0-rc1.1
 
 Released 2020-Nov-17
diff --git a/src/OpenTelemetry.Api/Internal/ActivityHelperExtensions.cs b/src/OpenTelemetry.Api/Internal/ActivityHelperExtensions.cs
index 2e97497e45f..48cc88636cc 100644
--- a/src/OpenTelemetry.Api/Internal/ActivityHelperExtensions.cs
+++ b/src/OpenTelemetry.Api/Internal/ActivityHelperExtensions.cs
@@ -14,7 +14,6 @@
 // limitations under the License.
 // </copyright>
 
-using System;
 using System.Collections.Generic;
 using System.Diagnostics;
 using System.Reflection;
@@ -34,10 +33,12 @@ internal static class ActivityHelperExtensions
         /// This extension provides a workaround to retrieve Status from special tags with key name otel.status_code and otel.status_description.
         /// </summary>
         /// <param name="activity">Activity instance.</param>
-        /// <returns>Activity execution status.</returns>
+        /// <param name="statusCode"><see cref="StatusCode"/>.</param>
+        /// <param name="statusDescription">Status description.</param>
+        /// <returns><see langword="true"/> if <see cref="Status"/> was found on the supplied Activity.</returns>
         [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)]
         [System.Diagnostics.CodeAnalysis.SuppressMessage("Design", "CA1062:Validate arguments of public methods", Justification = "ActivityProcessor is hot path")]
-        public static Status GetStatusHelper(this Activity activity)
+        public static bool TryGetStatus(this Activity activity, out StatusCode statusCode, out string statusDescription)
         {
             Debug.Assert(activity != null, "Activity should not be null");
 
@@ -45,31 +46,16 @@ public static Status GetStatusHelper(this Activity activity)
 
             ActivityTagsEnumeratorFactory<ActivityStatusTagEnumerator>.Enumerate(activity, ref state);
 
-            if (!state.IsValid)
+            if (!state.StatusCode.HasValue)
             {
-                return default;
+                statusCode = default;
+                statusDescription = null;
+                return false;
             }
 
-            Status status;
-            if (state.StatusCode == StatusCode.Error)
-            {
-                status = Status.Error;
-            }
-            else if (state.StatusCode == StatusCode.Ok)
-            {
-                status = Status.Ok;
-            }
-            else
-            {
-                status = Status.Unset;
-            }
-
-            if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(state.StatusDescription))
-            {
-                return status.WithDescription(state.StatusDescription);
-            }
-
-            return status;
+            statusCode = state.StatusCode.Value;
+            statusDescription = state.StatusDescription;
+            return true;
         }
 
         /// <summary>
@@ -193,9 +179,7 @@ public bool ForEach(KeyValuePair<string, object> item)
 
         private struct ActivityStatusTagEnumerator : IActivityEnumerator<KeyValuePair<string, object>>
         {
-            public bool IsValid;
-
-            public StatusCode StatusCode;
+            public StatusCode? StatusCode;
 
             public string StatusDescription;
 
@@ -204,15 +188,14 @@ public bool ForEach(KeyValuePair<string, object> item)
                 switch (item.Key)
                 {
                     case SpanAttributeConstants.StatusCodeKey:
-                        this.StatusCode = (StatusCode)item.Value;
-                        this.IsValid = this.StatusCode == StatusCode.Error || this.StatusCode == StatusCode.Ok || this.StatusCode == StatusCode.Unset;
+                        this.StatusCode = StatusHelper.GetStatusCodeForStringName(item.Value as string);
                         break;
                     case SpanAttributeConstants.StatusDescriptionKey:
                         this.StatusDescription = item.Value as string;
                         break;
                 }
 
-                return this.IsValid || this.StatusDescription == null;
+                return !this.StatusCode.HasValue || this.StatusDescription == null;
             }
         }
 
diff --git a/src/OpenTelemetry.Api/Internal/SpanHelper.cs b/src/OpenTelemetry.Api/Internal/SpanHelper.cs
index 61fdb983867..a1ab8786ce9 100644
--- a/src/OpenTelemetry.Api/Internal/SpanHelper.cs
+++ b/src/OpenTelemetry.Api/Internal/SpanHelper.cs
@@ -29,14 +29,12 @@ internal static class SpanHelper
         /// <returns>Resolved span <see cref="Status"/> for the Http status code.</returns>
         public static Status ResolveSpanStatusForHttpStatusCode(int httpStatusCode)
         {
-            var status = Status.Error;
-
             if (httpStatusCode >= 100 && httpStatusCode <= 399)
             {
-                status = Status.Unset;
+                return Status.Unset;
             }
 
-            return status;
+            return Status.Error;
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/OpenTelemetry.Api/Internal/StatusHelper.cs b/src/OpenTelemetry.Api/Internal/StatusHelper.cs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..b3ce9ac5845
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/OpenTelemetry.Api/Internal/StatusHelper.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+// <copyright file="StatusHelper.cs" company="OpenTelemetry Authors">
+// Copyright The OpenTelemetry Authors
+//
+// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+// You may obtain a copy of the License at
+//
+//     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+//
+// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+// limitations under the License.
+// </copyright>
+
+using System.Runtime.CompilerServices;
+using OpenTelemetry.Trace;
+
+namespace OpenTelemetry.Internal
+{
+    internal static class StatusHelper
+    {
+        [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)]
+        public static string GetStringNameForStatusCode(StatusCode statusCode)
+        {
+            return statusCode switch
+            {
+                /*
+                 * Note: Order here does matter for perf. Unset is
+                 * first because assumption is most spans will be
+                 * Unset, then Error. Ok is not set by the SDK.
+                 */
+                StatusCode.Unset => "Unset",
+                StatusCode.Error => "Error",
+                StatusCode.Ok => "Ok",
+                _ => null,
+            };
+        }
+
+        [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)]
+        public static StatusCode? GetStatusCodeForStringName(string statusCodeName)
+        {
+            return statusCodeName switch
+            {
+                /*
+                 * Note: Order here does matter for perf. Unset is
+                 * first because assumption is most spans will be
+                 * Unset, then Error. Ok is not set by the SDK.
+                 */
+                "Unset" => StatusCode.Unset,
+                "Error" => StatusCode.Error,
+                "Ok" => StatusCode.Ok,
+                _ => (StatusCode?)null,
+            };
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/OpenTelemetry.Api/Trace/ActivityExtensions.cs b/src/OpenTelemetry.Api/Trace/ActivityExtensions.cs
index 27ada2b6ad3..4f8e2b07287 100644
--- a/src/OpenTelemetry.Api/Trace/ActivityExtensions.cs
+++ b/src/OpenTelemetry.Api/Trace/ActivityExtensions.cs
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ public static void SetStatus(this Activity activity, Status status)
         {
             Debug.Assert(activity != null, "Activity should not be null");
 
-            activity.SetTag(SpanAttributeConstants.StatusCodeKey, (int)status.StatusCode);
+            activity.SetTag(SpanAttributeConstants.StatusCodeKey, StatusHelper.GetStringNameForStatusCode(status.StatusCode));
             activity.SetTag(SpanAttributeConstants.StatusDescriptionKey, status.Description);
         }
 
@@ -55,7 +55,12 @@ public static void SetStatus(this Activity activity, Status status)
         [System.Diagnostics.CodeAnalysis.SuppressMessage("Design", "CA1062:Validate arguments of public methods", Justification = "ActivityProcessor is hot path")]
         public static Status GetStatus(this Activity activity)
         {
-            return activity.GetStatusHelper();
+            if (!activity.TryGetStatus(out StatusCode statusCode, out string statusDescription))
+            {
+                return Status.Unset;
+            }
+
+            return new Status(statusCode, statusDescription);
         }
 
         /// <summary>
diff --git a/src/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.Jaeger/CHANGELOG.md b/src/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.Jaeger/CHANGELOG.md
index 40eb1acbe52..0655ac7d142 100644
--- a/src/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.Jaeger/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/src/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.Jaeger/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -2,6 +2,9 @@
 
 ## Unreleased
 
+* Jaeger will now set the `error` tag when `otel.status_code` is set to `Error`.
+  ([#1579](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-dotnet/pull/1579))
+
 ## 1.0.0-rc1.1
 
 Released 2020-Nov-17
diff --git a/src/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.Jaeger/Implementation/JaegerActivityExtensions.cs b/src/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.Jaeger/Implementation/JaegerActivityExtensions.cs
index 03639312751..e78960f6a6b 100644
--- a/src/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.Jaeger/Implementation/JaegerActivityExtensions.cs
+++ b/src/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.Jaeger/Implementation/JaegerActivityExtensions.cs
@@ -255,6 +255,11 @@ private static void ProcessJaegerTag(ref TagEnumerationState state, string key,
             if (jaegerTag.VStr != null)
             {
                 PeerServiceResolver.InspectTag(ref state, key, jaegerTag.VStr);
+
+                if (key == SpanAttributeConstants.StatusCodeKey && jaegerTag.VStr == "Error")
+                {
+                    PooledList<JaegerTag>.Add(ref state.Tags, new JaegerTag("error", JaegerTagType.BOOL, vBool: true));
+                }
             }
             else if (jaegerTag.VLong.HasValue)
             {
diff --git a/src/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.Jaeger/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.Jaeger.csproj b/src/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.Jaeger/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.Jaeger.csproj
index 032b860fa59..e1d8845f9bf 100644
--- a/src/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.Jaeger/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.Jaeger.csproj
+++ b/src/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.Jaeger/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.Jaeger.csproj
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
     <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Api\Internal\SemanticConventions.cs" Link="Includes\SemanticConventions.cs" />
     <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Api\Internal\SpanAttributeConstants.cs" Link="Includes\SpanAttributeConstants.cs" />
     <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Api\Internal\ActivityHelperExtensions.cs" Link="Includes\ActivityHelperExtensions.cs" />
+    <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Api\Internal\StatusHelper.cs" Link="Includes\StatusHelper.cs" />
     <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Api\Internal\IActivityEnumerator.cs" Link="Includes\IActivityEnumerator.cs" />
     <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Api\Internal\EnumerationHelper.cs" Link="Includes\EnumerationHelper.cs" />
     <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry\Internal\PooledList.cs" Link="Includes\PooledList.cs" />
diff --git a/src/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.OpenTelemetryProtocol/Implementation/ActivityExtensions.cs b/src/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.OpenTelemetryProtocol/Implementation/ActivityExtensions.cs
index b08805b8d87..ebbae69c270 100644
--- a/src/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.OpenTelemetryProtocol/Implementation/ActivityExtensions.cs
+++ b/src/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.OpenTelemetryProtocol/Implementation/ActivityExtensions.cs
@@ -239,7 +239,9 @@ internal static OtlpCommon.KeyValue ToOtlpAttribute(this KeyValuePair<string, ob
         [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)]
         private static OtlpTrace.Status ToOtlpStatus(ref TagEnumerationState otlpTags)
         {
-            if (!otlpTags.StatusCode.HasValue)
+            var status = StatusHelper.GetStatusCodeForStringName(otlpTags.StatusCode);
+
+            if (!status.HasValue)
             {
                 return null;
             }
@@ -247,7 +249,7 @@ private static OtlpTrace.Status ToOtlpStatus(ref TagEnumerationState otlpTags)
             var otlpStatus = new OtlpTrace.Status
             {
                 // The numerical values of the two enumerations match, a simple cast is enough.
-                Code = (OtlpTrace.Status.Types.StatusCode)otlpTags.StatusCode,
+                Code = (OtlpTrace.Status.Types.StatusCode)(int)status,
             };
 
             if (otlpStatus.Code != OtlpTrace.Status.Types.StatusCode.Error)
@@ -370,7 +372,7 @@ private struct TagEnumerationState : IActivityEnumerator<KeyValuePair<string, ob
 
             public PooledList<OtlpCommon.KeyValue> Tags;
 
-            public int? StatusCode;
+            public string StatusCode;
 
             public string StatusDescription;
 
@@ -396,7 +398,7 @@ public bool ForEach(KeyValuePair<string, object> activityTag)
                 switch (key)
                 {
                     case SpanAttributeConstants.StatusCodeKey:
-                        this.StatusCode = activityTag.Value as int?;
+                        this.StatusCode = activityTag.Value as string;
                         return true;
                     case SpanAttributeConstants.StatusDescriptionKey:
                         this.StatusDescription = activityTag.Value as string;
diff --git a/src/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.OpenTelemetryProtocol/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.OpenTelemetryProtocol.csproj b/src/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.OpenTelemetryProtocol/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.OpenTelemetryProtocol.csproj
index c6b00e0d914..e265339da42 100644
--- a/src/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.OpenTelemetryProtocol/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.OpenTelemetryProtocol.csproj
+++ b/src/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.OpenTelemetryProtocol/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.OpenTelemetryProtocol.csproj
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
     <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Api\Internal\SemanticConventions.cs" Link="Includes\SemanticConventions.cs" />
     <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Api\Internal\SpanAttributeConstants.cs" Link="Includes\SpanAttributeConstants.cs" />
     <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Api\Internal\ActivityHelperExtensions.cs" Link="Includes\ActivityHelperExtensions.cs" />
+    <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Api\Internal\StatusHelper.cs" Link="Includes\StatusHelper.cs" />
     <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Api\Internal\IActivityEnumerator.cs" Link="Includes\IActivityEnumerator.cs" />
     <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Api\Internal\EnumerationHelper.cs" Link="Includes\EnumerationHelper.cs" />
     <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry\Internal\PooledList.cs" Link="Includes\PooledList.cs" />
diff --git a/src/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.Zipkin/CHANGELOG.md b/src/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.Zipkin/CHANGELOG.md
index 2d920ecfa24..1c53505034e 100644
--- a/src/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.Zipkin/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/src/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.Zipkin/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -2,6 +2,9 @@
 
 ## Unreleased
 
+* Zipkin will now set the `error` tag when `otel.status_code` is set to `Error`.
+  ([#1579](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-dotnet/pull/1579))
+
 ## 1.0.0-rc1.1
 
 Released 2020-Nov-17
diff --git a/src/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.Zipkin/Implementation/ZipkinActivityConversionExtensions.cs b/src/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.Zipkin/Implementation/ZipkinActivityConversionExtensions.cs
index f759a510bf1..3851418d1cd 100644
--- a/src/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.Zipkin/Implementation/ZipkinActivityConversionExtensions.cs
+++ b/src/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.Zipkin/Implementation/ZipkinActivityConversionExtensions.cs
@@ -174,6 +174,11 @@ public bool ForEach(KeyValuePair<string, object> activityTag)
                 if (activityTag.Value is string strVal)
                 {
                     PeerServiceResolver.InspectTag(ref this, key, strVal);
+
+                    if (key == SpanAttributeConstants.StatusCodeKey && strVal == "Error")
+                    {
+                        PooledList<KeyValuePair<string, object>>.Add(ref this.Tags, new KeyValuePair<string, object>("error", "true"));
+                    }
                 }
                 else if (activityTag.Value is int intVal && activityTag.Key == SemanticConventions.AttributeNetPeerPort)
                 {
diff --git a/src/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.Zipkin/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.Zipkin.csproj b/src/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.Zipkin/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.Zipkin.csproj
index 4e39adbcc5e..4aef8c9eb68 100644
--- a/src/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.Zipkin/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.Zipkin.csproj
+++ b/src/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.Zipkin/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.Zipkin.csproj
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
     <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Api\Internal\SemanticConventions.cs" Link="Includes\SemanticConventions.cs" />
     <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Api\Internal\SpanAttributeConstants.cs" Link="Includes\SpanAttributeConstants.cs" />
     <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Api\Internal\ActivityHelperExtensions.cs" Link="Includes\ActivityHelperExtensions.cs" />
+    <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Api\Internal\StatusHelper.cs" Link="Includes\StatusHelper.cs" />
     <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Api\Internal\IActivityEnumerator.cs" Link="Includes\IActivityEnumerator.cs" />
     <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Api\Internal\EnumerationHelper.cs" Link="Includes\EnumerationHelper.cs" />
     <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry\Internal\PooledList.cs" Link="Includes\PooledList.cs" />
diff --git a/src/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.AspNet/Implementation/HttpInListener.cs b/src/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.AspNet/Implementation/HttpInListener.cs
index b2f04522835..9685ecb46b3 100644
--- a/src/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.AspNet/Implementation/HttpInListener.cs
+++ b/src/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.AspNet/Implementation/HttpInListener.cs
@@ -180,8 +180,7 @@ public override void OnStopActivity(Activity activity, object payload)
 
                 if (activityToEnrich.GetStatus().StatusCode == StatusCode.Unset)
                 {
-                    Status status = SpanHelper.ResolveSpanStatusForHttpStatusCode(response.StatusCode);
-                    activityToEnrich.SetStatus(status);
+                    activityToEnrich.SetStatus(SpanHelper.ResolveSpanStatusForHttpStatusCode(response.StatusCode));
                 }
 
                 var routeData = context.Request.RequestContext.RouteData;
diff --git a/src/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.AspNetCore/Implementation/HttpInListener.cs b/src/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.AspNetCore/Implementation/HttpInListener.cs
index 11ff93e9858..a5a76c8edb2 100644
--- a/src/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.AspNetCore/Implementation/HttpInListener.cs
+++ b/src/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.AspNetCore/Implementation/HttpInListener.cs
@@ -171,13 +171,13 @@ public override void OnStopActivity(Activity activity, object payload)
                 {
                     if (activity.GetStatus().StatusCode == StatusCode.Unset)
                     {
-                        SetStatusFromHttpStatusCode(activity, response.StatusCode);
+                        activity.SetStatus(SpanHelper.ResolveSpanStatusForHttpStatusCode(response.StatusCode));
                     }
                 }
 #else
                 if (activity.GetStatus().StatusCode == StatusCode.Unset)
                 {
-                    SetStatusFromHttpStatusCode(activity, response.StatusCode);
+                    activity.SetStatus(SpanHelper.ResolveSpanStatusForHttpStatusCode(response.StatusCode));
                 }
 #endif
 
@@ -304,13 +304,6 @@ private static string GetUri(HttpRequest request)
             return builder.ToString();
         }
 
-        [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)]
-        private static void SetStatusFromHttpStatusCode(Activity activity, int statusCode)
-        {
-            var status = SpanHelper.ResolveSpanStatusForHttpStatusCode(statusCode);
-            activity.SetStatus(status);
-        }
-
 #if NETSTANDARD2_1
         [MethodImpl(MethodImplOptions.AggressiveInlining)]
         private static bool TryGetGrpcMethod(Activity activity, out string grpcMethod)
diff --git a/src/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.AspNetCore/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.AspNetCore.csproj b/src/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.AspNetCore/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.AspNetCore.csproj
index d9d01184718..9c9c2f36e63 100644
--- a/src/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.AspNetCore/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.AspNetCore.csproj
+++ b/src/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.AspNetCore/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.AspNetCore.csproj
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
     <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Api\Internal\SpanAttributeConstants.cs" Link="Includes\SpanAttributeConstants.cs" />
     <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Api\Internal\ExceptionExtensions.cs" Link="Includes\ExceptionExtensions.cs" />
     <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Api\Internal\ActivityHelperExtensions.cs" Link="Includes\ActivityHelperExtensions.cs" />
+    <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Api\Internal\StatusHelper.cs" Link="Includes\StatusHelper.cs" />
     <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Api\Internal\IActivityEnumerator.cs" Link="Includes\IActivityEnumerator.cs" />
     <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Api\Internal\EnumerationHelper.cs" Link="Includes\EnumerationHelper.cs" />
     <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.GrpcNetClient\GrpcTagHelper.cs" Link="Includes\GrpcTagHelper.cs" />
diff --git a/src/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.GrpcNetClient/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.GrpcNetClient.csproj b/src/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.GrpcNetClient/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.GrpcNetClient.csproj
index 9789ab34acd..68b596c9604 100644
--- a/src/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.GrpcNetClient/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.GrpcNetClient.csproj
+++ b/src/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.GrpcNetClient/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.GrpcNetClient.csproj
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
     <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Api\Internal\ExceptionExtensions.cs" Link="Includes\ExceptionExtensions.cs" />
     <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Api\Internal\SemanticConventions.cs" Link="Includes\SemanticConventions.cs" />
     <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Api\Internal\ActivityHelperExtensions.cs" Link="Includes\ActivityHelperExtensions.cs" />
+    <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Api\Internal\StatusHelper.cs" Link="Includes\StatusHelper.cs" />
     <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Api\Internal\IActivityEnumerator.cs" Link="Includes\IActivityEnumerator.cs" />
     <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Api\Internal\EnumerationHelper.cs" Link="Includes\EnumerationHelper.cs" />
     <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Api\Internal\SpanAttributeConstants.cs" Link="Includes\SpanAttributeConstants.cs" />
diff --git a/src/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.Http/CHANGELOG.md b/src/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.Http/CHANGELOG.md
index 8dd0e629f44..64c0ee18326 100644
--- a/src/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.Http/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/src/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.Http/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -2,6 +2,10 @@
 
 ## Unreleased
 
+* `otel.status_description` tag will no longer be set to the http status
+  description/reason phrase for outgoing http spans.
+  ([#1579](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-dotnet/pull/1579))
+
 ## 1.0.0-rc1.1
 
 Released 2020-Nov-17
diff --git a/src/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.Http/Implementation/HttpHandlerDiagnosticListener.cs b/src/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.Http/Implementation/HttpHandlerDiagnosticListener.cs
index e728102bd45..0fcb8321390 100644
--- a/src/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.Http/Implementation/HttpHandlerDiagnosticListener.cs
+++ b/src/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.Http/Implementation/HttpHandlerDiagnosticListener.cs
@@ -149,10 +149,7 @@ public override void OnStopActivity(Activity activity, object payload)
 
                     if (currentStatusCode == StatusCode.Unset)
                     {
-                        activity.SetStatus(
-                        SpanHelper
-                            .ResolveSpanStatusForHttpStatusCode((int)response.StatusCode)
-                            .WithDescription(response.ReasonPhrase));
+                        activity.SetStatus(SpanHelper.ResolveSpanStatusForHttpStatusCode((int)response.StatusCode));
                     }
 
                     try
diff --git a/src/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.Http/Implementation/HttpWebRequestActivitySource.netfx.cs b/src/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.Http/Implementation/HttpWebRequestActivitySource.netfx.cs
index 4657e860a83..1c669754fc4 100644
--- a/src/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.Http/Implementation/HttpWebRequestActivitySource.netfx.cs
+++ b/src/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.Http/Implementation/HttpWebRequestActivitySource.netfx.cs
@@ -122,10 +122,7 @@ private static void AddResponseTags(HttpWebResponse response, Activity activity)
             {
                 activity.SetTag(SemanticConventions.AttributeHttpStatusCode, (int)response.StatusCode);
 
-                activity.SetStatus(
-                    SpanHelper
-                        .ResolveSpanStatusForHttpStatusCode((int)response.StatusCode)
-                        .WithDescription(response.StatusDescription));
+                activity.SetStatus(SpanHelper.ResolveSpanStatusForHttpStatusCode((int)response.StatusCode));
 
                 try
                 {
@@ -153,7 +150,7 @@ private static void AddExceptionTags(Exception exception, Activity activity)
                 {
                     activity.SetTag(SemanticConventions.AttributeHttpStatusCode, (int)response.StatusCode);
 
-                    status = SpanHelper.ResolveSpanStatusForHttpStatusCode((int)response.StatusCode).WithDescription(response.StatusDescription);
+                    status = SpanHelper.ResolveSpanStatusForHttpStatusCode((int)response.StatusCode);
                 }
                 else
                 {
diff --git a/test/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.Jaeger.Tests/Implementation/JaegerActivityConversionTest.cs b/test/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.Jaeger.Tests/Implementation/JaegerActivityConversionTest.cs
index 2c83ce810ce..39f7b148a7f 100644
--- a/test/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.Jaeger.Tests/Implementation/JaegerActivityConversionTest.cs
+++ b/test/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.Jaeger.Tests/Implementation/JaegerActivityConversionTest.cs
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 using System.Linq;
 
 using OpenTelemetry.Exporter.Jaeger.Implementation;
+using OpenTelemetry.Internal;
 using OpenTelemetry.Resources;
 using OpenTelemetry.Trace;
 using Xunit;
@@ -434,6 +435,37 @@ public void JaegerActivityConverterTest_NullTagValueTest()
             Assert.DoesNotContain(jaegerSpan.Tags, t => t.Key == "nullTag");
         }
 
+        [Theory]
+        [InlineData(StatusCode.Unset, false)]
+        [InlineData(StatusCode.Ok, false)]
+        [InlineData(StatusCode.Error, true)]
+        public void JaegerActivityConverterTest_Status_ErrorFlagTest(StatusCode statusCode, bool hasErrorFlag)
+        {
+            var status = statusCode switch
+            {
+                StatusCode.Unset => Status.Unset,
+                StatusCode.Ok => Status.Ok,
+                StatusCode.Error => Status.Error,
+                _ => throw new InvalidOperationException(),
+            };
+
+            // Arrange
+            var activity = CreateTestActivity(status: status);
+
+            // Act
+            var jaegerSpan = activity.ToJaegerSpan();
+
+            // Assert
+            if (hasErrorFlag)
+            {
+                Assert.Contains(jaegerSpan.Tags, t => t.Key == "error" && t.VType == JaegerTagType.BOOL && (t.VBool ?? false));
+            }
+            else
+            {
+                Assert.DoesNotContain(jaegerSpan.Tags, t => t.Key == "error");
+            }
+        }
+
         internal static Activity CreateTestActivity(
             bool setAttributes = true,
             Dictionary<string, object> additionalAttributes = null,
@@ -441,7 +473,8 @@ internal static Activity CreateTestActivity(
             bool addLinks = true,
             Resource resource = null,
             ActivityKind kind = ActivityKind.Client,
-            bool isRootSpan = false)
+            bool isRootSpan = false,
+            Status? status = null)
         {
             var startTimestamp = DateTime.UtcNow;
             var endTimestamp = startTimestamp.AddSeconds(60);
@@ -523,6 +556,11 @@ internal static Activity CreateTestActivity(
                 }
             }
 
+            if (status.HasValue)
+            {
+                activity.SetStatus(status.Value);
+            }
+
             activity.SetEndTime(endTimestamp);
             activity.Stop();
 
diff --git a/test/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.Zipkin.Tests/Implementation/ZipkinActivityConversionTest.cs b/test/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.Zipkin.Tests/Implementation/ZipkinActivityConversionTest.cs
index 4ff02a9d667..49fe736264c 100644
--- a/test/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.Zipkin.Tests/Implementation/ZipkinActivityConversionTest.cs
+++ b/test/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.Zipkin.Tests/Implementation/ZipkinActivityConversionTest.cs
@@ -14,8 +14,10 @@
 // limitations under the License.
 // </copyright>
 
+using System;
 using System.Linq;
 using OpenTelemetry.Exporter.Zipkin.Implementation;
+using OpenTelemetry.Trace;
 using Xunit;
 
 namespace OpenTelemetry.Exporter.Zipkin.Tests.Implementation
@@ -84,5 +86,36 @@ public void ToZipkinSpan_NoEvents()
             Assert.Equal(activity.StartTimeUtc.ToEpochMicroseconds(), zipkinSpan.Timestamp);
             Assert.Equal((long)activity.Duration.TotalMilliseconds * 1000, zipkinSpan.Duration);
         }
+
+        [Theory]
+        [InlineData(StatusCode.Unset, false)]
+        [InlineData(StatusCode.Ok, false)]
+        [InlineData(StatusCode.Error, true)]
+        public void ToZipkinSpan_Status_ErrorFlagTest(StatusCode statusCode, bool hasErrorFlag)
+        {
+            var status = statusCode switch
+            {
+                StatusCode.Unset => Status.Unset,
+                StatusCode.Ok => Status.Ok,
+                StatusCode.Error => Status.Error,
+                _ => throw new InvalidOperationException(),
+            };
+
+            // Arrange
+            var activity = ZipkinExporterTests.CreateTestActivity(status: status);
+
+            // Act
+            var zipkinSpan = activity.ToZipkinSpan(DefaultZipkinEndpoint);
+
+            // Assert
+            if (hasErrorFlag)
+            {
+                Assert.Contains(zipkinSpan.Tags.Value, t => t.Key == "error" && (string)t.Value == "true");
+            }
+            else
+            {
+                Assert.DoesNotContain(zipkinSpan.Tags.Value, t => t.Key == "error");
+            }
+        }
     }
 }
diff --git a/test/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.Zipkin.Tests/ZipkinExporterTests.cs b/test/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.Zipkin.Tests/ZipkinExporterTests.cs
index af9c9218b4a..85b28276524 100644
--- a/test/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.Zipkin.Tests/ZipkinExporterTests.cs
+++ b/test/OpenTelemetry.Exporter.Zipkin.Tests/ZipkinExporterTests.cs
@@ -204,7 +204,8 @@ internal static Activity CreateTestActivity(
            bool addEvents = true,
            bool addLinks = true,
            Resource resource = null,
-           ActivityKind kind = ActivityKind.Client)
+           ActivityKind kind = ActivityKind.Client,
+           Status? status = null)
         {
             var startTimestamp = DateTime.UtcNow;
             var endTimestamp = startTimestamp.AddSeconds(60);
@@ -286,6 +287,11 @@ internal static Activity CreateTestActivity(
                 }
             }
 
+            if (status.HasValue)
+            {
+                activity.SetStatus(status.Value);
+            }
+
             activity.SetEndTime(endTimestamp);
             activity.Stop();
 
diff --git a/test/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.AspNet.Tests/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.AspNet.Tests.csproj b/test/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.AspNet.Tests/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.AspNet.Tests.csproj
index 1d593462ce2..abaf2a1e27f 100644
--- a/test/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.AspNet.Tests/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.AspNet.Tests.csproj
+++ b/test/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.AspNet.Tests/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.AspNet.Tests.csproj
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
   <ItemGroup>
     <ProjectReference Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.AspNet\OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.AspNet.csproj" />
     <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Api\Internal\ActivityHelperExtensions.cs" Link="Includes\ActivityHelperExtensions.cs" />
+    <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Api\Internal\StatusHelper.cs" Link="Includes\StatusHelper.cs" />
     <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Api\Internal\IActivityEnumerator.cs" Link="Includes\IActivityEnumerator.cs" />
     <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Api\Internal\EnumerationHelper.cs" Link="Includes\EnumerationHelper.cs" />
     <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\test\OpenTelemetry.Tests\Shared\EventSourceTestHelper.cs" Link="EventSourceTestHelper.cs" />
diff --git a/test/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.Http.Tests/HttpClientTests.netcore31.cs b/test/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.Http.Tests/HttpClientTests.netcore31.cs
index 3309497fa3c..21c1cc72a8b 100644
--- a/test/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.Http.Tests/HttpClientTests.netcore31.cs
+++ b/test/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.Http.Tests/HttpClientTests.netcore31.cs
@@ -96,17 +96,17 @@ public async Task HttpOutCallsAreCollectedSuccessfullyAsync(HttpTestData.HttpOut
             Assert.Equal(ActivityKind.Client, activity.Kind);
             Assert.Equal(tc.SpanName, activity.DisplayName);
 
-            var d = new Dictionary<int, string>()
+            var d = new Dictionary<string, string>()
             {
-                { (int)StatusCode.Ok, "OK" },
-                { (int)StatusCode.Error, "ERROR" },
-                { (int)StatusCode.Unset, "UNSET" },
+                { "Ok", "OK" },
+                { "Error", "ERROR" },
+                { "Unset", "UNSET" },
             };
 
             // Assert.Equal(tc.SpanStatus, d[span.Status.CanonicalCode]);
             Assert.Equal(
                     tc.SpanStatus,
-                    d[(int)activity.GetTagValue(SpanAttributeConstants.StatusCodeKey)]);
+                    d[activity.GetTagValue(SpanAttributeConstants.StatusCodeKey) as string]);
 
             if (tc.SpanStatusHasDescription.HasValue)
             {
diff --git a/test/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.Http.Tests/HttpWebRequestActivitySourceTests.netfx.cs b/test/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.Http.Tests/HttpWebRequestActivitySourceTests.netfx.cs
index 581d3bbd929..f6a944a63af 100644
--- a/test/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.Http.Tests/HttpWebRequestActivitySourceTests.netfx.cs
+++ b/test/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.Http.Tests/HttpWebRequestActivitySourceTests.netfx.cs
@@ -194,7 +194,7 @@ public async Task TestBasicReceiveAndResponseEvents(string method, string queryS
             Assert.True(eventRecords.Records.TryDequeue(out var stopEvent));
             Assert.Equal("Stop", stopEvent.Key);
 
-            VerifyActivityStopTags(200, "OK", activity);
+            VerifyActivityStopTags(200, activity);
         }
 
         [Theory]
@@ -374,7 +374,7 @@ public async Task TestBasicReceiveAndResponseWebRequestEvents(string method, int
             Assert.True(eventRecords.Records.TryDequeue(out var stopEvent));
             Assert.Equal("Stop", stopEvent.Key);
 
-            VerifyActivityStopTags(200, "OK", activity);
+            VerifyActivityStopTags(200, activity);
         }
 
         [Fact]
@@ -480,7 +480,7 @@ public async Task TestResponseWithoutContentEvents(string method)
             Assert.True(eventRecords.Records.TryDequeue(out var stopEvent));
             Assert.Equal("Stop", stopEvent.Key);
 
-            VerifyActivityStopTags(204, "No Content", activity);
+            VerifyActivityStopTags(204, activity);
         }
 
         /// <summary>
@@ -781,10 +781,9 @@ private static void VerifyActivityStartTags(string hostNameAndPort, string metho
             Assert.Equal(url, activity.GetTagValue(SemanticConventions.AttributeHttpUrl));
         }
 
-        private static void VerifyActivityStopTags(int statusCode, string statusText, Activity activity)
+        private static void VerifyActivityStopTags(int statusCode, Activity activity)
         {
             Assert.Equal(statusCode, activity.GetTagValue(SemanticConventions.AttributeHttpStatusCode));
-            Assert.Equal(statusText, activity.GetTagValue(SpanAttributeConstants.StatusDescriptionKey));
         }
 
         private static void ActivityEnrichment(Activity activity, string method, object obj)
diff --git a/test/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.Http.Tests/HttpWebRequestTests.netfx.cs b/test/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.Http.Tests/HttpWebRequestTests.netfx.cs
index 744be8ca199..88d779d4119 100644
--- a/test/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.Http.Tests/HttpWebRequestTests.netfx.cs
+++ b/test/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.Http.Tests/HttpWebRequestTests.netfx.cs
@@ -88,11 +88,11 @@ public void HttpOutCallsAreCollectedSuccessfully(HttpTestData.HttpOutTestCase tc
             ValidateHttpWebRequestActivity(activity);
             Assert.Equal(tc.SpanName, activity.DisplayName);
 
-            var d = new Dictionary<int, string>()
+            var d = new Dictionary<string, string>()
             {
-                { (int)StatusCode.Ok, "OK" },
-                { (int)StatusCode.Error, "ERROR" },
-                { (int)StatusCode.Unset, "UNSET" },
+                { "Ok", "OK" },
+                { "Error", "ERROR" },
+                { "Unset", "UNSET" },
             };
 
             tc.SpanAttributes = tc.SpanAttributes.ToDictionary(
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ public void HttpOutCallsAreCollectedSuccessfully(HttpTestData.HttpOutTestCase tc
                 {
                     if (tag.Key == SpanAttributeConstants.StatusCodeKey)
                     {
-                        Assert.Equal(tc.SpanStatus, d[int.Parse(tagValue)]);
+                        Assert.Equal(tc.SpanStatus, d[tagValue]);
                         continue;
                     }
 
diff --git a/test/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.Http.Tests/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.Http.Tests.csproj b/test/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.Http.Tests/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.Http.Tests.csproj
index af9840d1da7..dba457d6eac 100644
--- a/test/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.Http.Tests/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.Http.Tests.csproj
+++ b/test/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.Http.Tests/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.Http.Tests.csproj
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
     <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\test\OpenTelemetry.Tests\Shared\InMemoryEventListener.cs" Link="InMemoryEventListener.cs" />
     <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Api\Internal\SpanAttributeConstants.cs" Link="Includes\SpanAttributeConstants.cs" />
     <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Api\Internal\ActivityHelperExtensions.cs" Link="Includes\ActivityHelperExtensions.cs" />
+    <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Api\Internal\StatusHelper.cs" Link="Includes\StatusHelper.cs" />
     <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Api\Internal\IActivityEnumerator.cs" Link="Includes\IActivityEnumerator.cs" />
     <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Api\Internal\EnumerationHelper.cs" Link="Includes\EnumerationHelper.cs" />
   </ItemGroup>
diff --git a/test/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.SqlClient.Tests/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.SqlClient.Tests.csproj b/test/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.SqlClient.Tests/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.SqlClient.Tests.csproj
index a9e4eb179ea..c8b5f270519 100644
--- a/test/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.SqlClient.Tests/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.SqlClient.Tests.csproj
+++ b/test/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.SqlClient.Tests/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.SqlClient.Tests.csproj
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
 
   <ItemGroup>
     <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Api\Internal\ActivityHelperExtensions.cs" Link="Includes\ActivityHelperExtensions.cs" />
+    <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Api\Internal\StatusHelper.cs" Link="Includes\StatusHelper.cs" />
     <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Api\Internal\IActivityEnumerator.cs" Link="Includes\IActivityEnumerator.cs" />
     <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Api\Internal\EnumerationHelper.cs" Link="Includes\EnumerationHelper.cs" />
     <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\test\OpenTelemetry.Tests\Shared\SkipUnlessEnvVarFoundTheoryAttribute.cs" Link="SkipUnlessEnvVarFoundTheoryAttribute.cs" />
diff --git a/test/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.SqlClient.Tests/SqlClientTests.cs b/test/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.SqlClient.Tests/SqlClientTests.cs
index a5591da751d..e1b7bf48b19 100644
--- a/test/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.SqlClient.Tests/SqlClientTests.cs
+++ b/test/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.SqlClient.Tests/SqlClientTests.cs
@@ -275,13 +275,13 @@ private static void VerifyActivityData(
 
             if (!isFailure)
             {
-                Assert.Equal((int)StatusCode.Unset, activity.GetTagValue(SpanAttributeConstants.StatusCodeKey));
-                Assert.Null(activity.GetTagValue(SpanAttributeConstants.StatusDescriptionKey));
+                Assert.Equal(Status.Unset, activity.GetStatus());
             }
             else
             {
-                Assert.Equal((int)StatusCode.Error, activity.GetTagValue(SpanAttributeConstants.StatusCodeKey));
-                Assert.NotNull(activity.GetTagValue(SpanAttributeConstants.StatusDescriptionKey));
+                var status = activity.GetStatus();
+                Assert.Equal(Status.Error.StatusCode, status.StatusCode);
+                Assert.NotNull(status.Description);
             }
 
             Assert.Equal(SqlClientDiagnosticListener.MicrosoftSqlServerDatabaseSystemName, activity.GetTagValue(SemanticConventions.AttributeDbSystem));
diff --git a/test/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.SqlClient.Tests/SqlEventSourceTests.netfx.cs b/test/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.SqlClient.Tests/SqlEventSourceTests.netfx.cs
index 686f8728647..5f1bc0ad59b 100644
--- a/test/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.SqlClient.Tests/SqlEventSourceTests.netfx.cs
+++ b/test/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.SqlClient.Tests/SqlEventSourceTests.netfx.cs
@@ -229,12 +229,13 @@ private static void VerifyActivityData(
 
             if (!isFailure)
             {
-                Assert.Equal((int)StatusCode.Unset, activity.GetTagValue(SpanAttributeConstants.StatusCodeKey));
+                Assert.Equal(Status.Unset, activity.GetStatus());
             }
             else
             {
-                Assert.Equal((int)StatusCode.Error, activity.GetTagValue(SpanAttributeConstants.StatusCodeKey));
-                Assert.NotNull(activity.GetTagValue(SpanAttributeConstants.StatusDescriptionKey));
+                var status = activity.GetStatus();
+                Assert.Equal(Status.Error.StatusCode, status.StatusCode);
+                Assert.NotNull(status.Description);
             }
         }
 
diff --git a/test/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.StackExchangeRedis.Tests/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.StackExchangeRedis.Tests.csproj b/test/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.StackExchangeRedis.Tests/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.StackExchangeRedis.Tests.csproj
index ae5be9844d2..7a1fa4dcf8c 100644
--- a/test/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.StackExchangeRedis.Tests/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.StackExchangeRedis.Tests.csproj
+++ b/test/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.StackExchangeRedis.Tests/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.StackExchangeRedis.Tests.csproj
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
   <ItemGroup>
     <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\test\OpenTelemetry.Tests\Shared\SkipUnlessEnvVarFoundTheoryAttribute.cs" Link="Implementation\SkipUnlessEnvVarFoundTheoryAttribute.cs" />
     <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Api\Internal\ActivityHelperExtensions.cs" Link="Includes\ActivityHelperExtensions.cs" />
+    <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Api\Internal\StatusHelper.cs" Link="Includes\StatusHelper.cs" />
     <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Api\Internal\IActivityEnumerator.cs" Link="Includes\IActivityEnumerator.cs" />
     <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Api\Internal\EnumerationHelper.cs" Link="Includes\EnumerationHelper.cs" />
     <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Api\Internal\SpanAttributeConstants.cs" Link="Includes\SpanAttributeConstants.cs" />
diff --git a/test/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.StackExchangeRedis.Tests/StackExchangeRedisCallsInstrumentationTests.cs b/test/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.StackExchangeRedis.Tests/StackExchangeRedisCallsInstrumentationTests.cs
index ebdfbe9c9df..b63a9b4c6dd 100644
--- a/test/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.StackExchangeRedis.Tests/StackExchangeRedisCallsInstrumentationTests.cs
+++ b/test/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.StackExchangeRedis.Tests/StackExchangeRedisCallsInstrumentationTests.cs
@@ -180,7 +180,7 @@ private static void VerifyActivityData(Activity activity, bool isSet, EndPoint e
                 Assert.Equal("GET", activity.GetTagValue(SemanticConventions.AttributeDbStatement));
             }
 
-            Assert.Equal((int)StatusCode.Unset, activity.GetTagValue(SpanAttributeConstants.StatusCodeKey));
+            Assert.Equal(Status.Unset, activity.GetStatus());
             Assert.Equal("redis", activity.GetTagValue(SemanticConventions.AttributeDbSystem));
             Assert.Equal(0, activity.GetTagValue(StackExchangeRedisCallsInstrumentation.RedisDatabaseIndexKeyName));
 
diff --git a/test/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.W3cTraceContext.Tests/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.W3cTraceContext.Tests.csproj b/test/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.W3cTraceContext.Tests/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.W3cTraceContext.Tests.csproj
index c3e5868cc82..fe94d23092c 100644
--- a/test/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.W3cTraceContext.Tests/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.W3cTraceContext.Tests.csproj
+++ b/test/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.W3cTraceContext.Tests/OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.W3cTraceContext.Tests.csproj
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@
     <ProjectReference Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.Http\OpenTelemetry.Instrumentation.Http.csproj" />
     <ProjectReference Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry\OpenTelemetry.csproj" />
     <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Api\Internal\ActivityHelperExtensions.cs" Link="Includes\ActivityHelperExtensions.cs" />
+    <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Api\Internal\StatusHelper.cs" Link="Includes\StatusHelper.cs" />
     <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Api\Internal\IActivityEnumerator.cs" Link="Includes\IActivityEnumerator.cs" />
     <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Api\Internal\EnumerationHelper.cs" Link="Includes\EnumerationHelper.cs" />
   <Compile Include="$(RepoRoot)\src\OpenTelemetry.Api\Internal\SpanAttributeConstants.cs" Link="Includes\SpanAttributeConstants.cs" />