States should adopt common education standards

States should adopt common education standards:

"As the world shrinks, few things have become more important than a flexible, portable education. Elementary school students in California may find themselves one day working in Rhode Island or Russia - and they'll need to start learning the skills that will take them anywhere right now."

That's the thinking behind the Common Core Standards for English and math, which were released in draft form last week. The standards, which were created by the Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Governors Association with encouragement from the Obama administration, may become national benchmarks for all K-12 students. The draft standards are the product of almost a year's worth of work, and they're open for public comment through April 2.
Most experts agree that the draft standards look pretty good. The standards are written in plain English, and the goals they set seem reasonable: For example, they say that kindergartners should learn to count, first-graders should be able to retell a story, and third-graders should learn fractions.
It's clear that the development team relied on outside research, state comparisons and the judgment of professionals; rather than a politically palatable race to the bottom, the standards aim for the top. Jack O'Connell, California's secretary of education, called the standards "rigorous." And it's worth nothing that they are internationally benchmarked - which will help American students fight for tomorrow's global, mobile jobs.
There's controversy surrounding the draft standards, of course. Teachers complain that

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