Now a panel assembled by the National Governors Association has proposed a set of Common Core Standards. Currently in draft form, the hope is that the standards will "define the knowledge and skill students should have to be ready to succeed in entry level, credit-bearing, academic college courses and in workforce training programs."
Washington presently has what are called "grade level expectations" - a set of standards defining what a child should know upon completion of the grade in which they are enrolled. For instance, 5th grade students in our state are expected to be able to perform multi-digit division in math, understand how family, culture and environmental factors affect personal health and understand how interactions within and among systems cause changes in scientific matter and energy. When it comes to social studies, 5th graders are expected to understand key ideals and principles of the United States, including those in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. And in reading those students in the 5th grade should be able to demonstrate evidence of reading comprehension.
How schools teach those standards are left up to individual districts and some times individual schools. Surprisingly, even under the standardized tests of No Child Left Behind, not every state shares the same standards. That's the hope of the Common Core Standards initiative.
According to Chuck Saylors, President of the National PTA, "Geographic or socio-economic factors should not dictate the level of education that all students are entitled to receive. The great benefit of the standards is that they will ensure a level playing field among states, school districts and schools that will give all students the opportunity to be ready for their college and career."
Washington Superintendent Randy Dorn says, "A common benchmark of standards for all states will make our education system more efficient and cost-effective, and it will give our kids a better chance at competing in a global economy." Though, according to a press release issued by Dorn's office yesterday said, any changes to our state's academic standards won't occur for at least two years and only after "ample opportunity for public review and comment."