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News Item September 1, 2009 |
Pushing for National Standards
What used to be a mainstay of states' rights – control over the educational system – may now be handed over to the federal government. And those responsible may surprise you. It's the governors and the state school officers! The National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers agreed this summer to work together to draft a set of national standards known as the Common Core State Standards Initiative. The July 2009 issue of the Education Reporter revealed that a secret panel of experts has been appointed by the coalition to begin work on the standards. The goal is to have the steps necessary to graduate from high school outlined by the end of the summer, as well as grade-by-grade skills and standards in reading and math from Kindergarten through the 12th grade. While states will be free to opt out of the standards, it should be noted that states were also free to opt out of the No Child Left Behind mandates. But, of course, they would forfeit any funding, and since the vast majority of states are under budget constraints, turning down federal monies seems unlikely. Only four states – Alaska, Missouri, South Carolina, and Texas – did not join the initiative. Although the governors of these states had many reasons for not joining, two primary concerns were signing something that is not written yet and whether federal mandates can even change low achievement rates at the local level. Such an effort takes vital resources away from programs and ideas that can specifically address needs in each school system. To date, attempts at creating federal standards have been bogged down by vastly different views of what is essential for students to learn and what is the best way to prepare students for the global marketplace. Past federal initiatives such as Goals 2000 and School-To-Work plans have failed to gain momentum partly because many people felt the standards had more to do with what children think rather than core knowledge. Those plans also were unsuccessful because the states fought against the federal government usurping their rights under the US Constitution. Now it seems many states – or at least their governors – have decided that is no longer important. |
