Common National Standards Not the Right Fix For Our Schools « PWC Education Reform Blog

Common National Standards Not the Right Fix For Our Schools « PWC Education Reform Blog:

Common National Standards Not the Right Fix For Our Schools

September 21, 2011 — pwceducationreform

Common national standards are not the right fix for our public schools, so said Jay Greene in his testimony before the US House Subcommittee on Early Education, Elementary, and Secondary Education. Jay has provided his written testimony on his blog here.

Jay says that the assumption underlying the push for common national standards is bogus:

“There is a large effort underway to change educational standards, curriculum, and assessments by centralizing the process. This effort is based on the belief that we will get more rigorous standards and better student outcomes if standards, curriculum, and assessments are determined, or at least coordinated, at the national level. It began with the use of Race to the Top to push states to adopt the Common Core standards, but will also require national curriculum and assessments to be fully implemented.

I believe this centralized approach is mistaken. The best way to produce high academic standards and better