Our view:
What Ronald Peiffer, the deputy state superintendent, said he could not conceive of just nine years ago has happened.
Forty-six states, D.C., Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands all agreed, at least conceptually, that classrooms ought to be teaching toward the same set of high standards.
For nearly the past decade, the country has been trying to ensure that every child got a minimum education. Now it appears we are moving to recognize that the minimum is not enough and that we have to raise our expectations if we are going to compete with foreign countries. To do that we should have national curriculum standards.
But that is no small task, as Peiffer sees it, in a nation that historically has given even the smallest school systems the right to decide what their children would learn. If they want to teach creationism, so be it. If they want to teach whole language or phonics, the choice was theirs.
States' rights were so clear that Peiffer didn't see how it would change. But the states have taken the first steps. The arguing may come later when the standards are made public.
Liz Bowie
Readers respond:
I have been amazed at the differences in state standards, and in Florida the educators I worked with seemed to indicate that "Northern schools" were much tougher than "Southern schools." Living in Maryland now, I find that to be somewhat true, as the students here are generally ahead of my students in Florida.
While standardized tests (and No Child Left Behind in particular) have their weaknesses, I think that sticking to the same standards across the entire country is at least a step in the right direction.
The problem I see with it is the question of which standards are chosen. Do we choose the more lax standards of one school so that they do not have a lot of ground to make up? And if not, how do we help those schools make up the lost time? I would be willing to bet there are at least 1-2 grade levels difference between any two given schools.
JenniferYou're right Jennifer. The post mentions that the states involved say they have more similarities than they do differences. That, at least, is a segue to deciding exactly WHAT to set as the expectation for national achievement. But just because we are all teaching the same standards doesn't mean we have to assess the same way. So, there is wiggle room for states to choose what they assess and with how much rigor.
