August 2, 2013
Why does our nation need common core standards? Jonah Edelman, co-founder and CEO of Stand for Children, addresses this question in the Hechinger Report article, Why Our Nation Needs Common Standards. Edelman begins his article by explaining the frustration of a military family after they moved from one state to another and had to deal with the inconsistency in standards for an accelerated school program for their son.
“It makes no sense that standards for students vary dramatically from state to state. NPR recently reported that a fourth-grader in Arkansas might be rated ‘proficient’ on his state test but could be deemed failing if he lived in Massachusetts. In 2009, 90 percent of Tennessee fourth-graders were on track in reading, according to the state’s assessment. But only 28 percent of them were up to muster on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, also known as the Nation’s Report Card, which is widely considered the most reliable and rigorous national assessment of student learning.”
Edelman continues to explain that ineffective standards do not only have students at a disadvantage, but inhibits the teachers who could benefit from collaborating with other colleagues across the country. He provides clear and direct explanations of the advantages to practical and effective, high standards everywhere, and to whom they all would benefit.
Read the full article here
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