After years of debating the idea of national content standards, representatives from 41 states convened in Chicago today in what organizers hope will be a first, concrete step toward common guidelines in mathematics and English-language arts.

The National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers—the Washington-based groups that are co-sponsoring the meeting—want to build a prototype of high school graduation standards by summer, and grade-by-grade academic standards in math and language arts by the end of the year.
The undertaking would start with rigorous math and language arts standards that are aligned with college- and career-ready expectations and made available for states to adopt voluntarily.

Following the meeting states ready to support common standards were to be asked to put their commitment in writing within weeks. It remains to be seen how significant a milestone the meeting will prove. The long path to national standards is often dated to 1983, with the release of A Nation at Risk, a report that warned the American education system was slipping into mediocrity and losing ground against international competitors. Over the past quarter century, the push has advanced in fits and starts.

Within the past few months, though, momentum on the issue has seemed to escalate. At the federal level, common standards have been declared a priority by the Obama administration and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. In fact, Mr. Duncan has said he wants to use part of the $5 billion in “Race to the Top” incentive funds included in the economic-stimulus package to help fuel the drive for common standards.

Gene Wilhoit, the executive director of the CCSSO, said the chiefs’ and governors’ staffs will work with groups already active in crafting rigorous, college-ready standards, such as Achieve, the New York City-based College Board, and act, the Iowa City-based organization that administers the college-entrance test. The chiefs’ and governors’ groups also will convene a group of “respected individuals” outside the two groups to comment on the standards as the process continues, Mr. Wilhoit said.

States that agree to go forward will then have to figure out how to get those new, common standards adopted—a process that can vary from state to state. Some may need to work with their legislatures, others through their state boards of education.
Finally, states will have to get those standards down to the district level and then onto teachers’ desks and into lesson plans.

Source: Education Week, 4.17.09