Education Law

The debate on national standards heats up again

Once again the debate has heated up — at least here inside the beltway — about standards and who should set them. As this article (registration required) in EdWeek points out several national organizations such as the National Governors Association and the American Federation of Teachers have recently endorsed the idea of common standards across states but not national standards instituted by the federal government.

But what is the difference between national and common standards? What are the pros and cons being discussed about common standards and the current system of state standards we have in place at the moment?  To find the answer to these questions and to learn more about the conversation that is taking place about who should establish academic standards check out the Center for Public Education’s Standards: A new national conversation. With this knowledge in hand school board members can strengthen their voice on who is best to decide what our students should know and be able to do.

Full post as published by BoardBuzz: NSBA's Daily Weblog on March 17, 2009 (boomark / email).