Recent debate over the effectiveness of No Child left Behind, is fueling another debate over whether or not we need one set of national curriculum standards for all schools in the United States. Each state now sets its own standards. Children in Portland, Oregon are held to a different set of math and reading standards than those across the Columbia River in Vancouver, Washington. That seems crazy since math is math and reading is reading, whether you’re in Oregon or in Washington.
Some states are lowering standards so that students will pass high stakes tests and districts will avoid the consequences that result when they fail to meet their annual yearly progress goals. What we see is results such as those in Mississippi where a state test showed 89% of fourth graders scoring at proficient levels while only 18% scored on a proficient level on the National Assessment of Educational Progress — a highly regarded national measure of achievement.
The debates seem divided along political party lines, with the Republicans siding against National Standards, claiming that states know what is best for their students. The Democrats, along with education reform and business groups, take issue with the inefficiency of what appears to be a hodge-podge of standards.
Michael Dannenberg, of the New American Foundation, an educational policy group in Washington D.C., believes the United States is on an inexorable march toward national standards and it is not a question of when, but how. I tend to agree with him, since it is difficult to defy the logic of national standards. What do you think?
The federal government isn't supposed to have a role in education. The Constitution as well as the courts say so.
Why would states permit the feds to dictate educational standards? More important, why would we?
Getting the federal government out of education would be a step towards true reform.