Standards

Getting a Say in Common Standards

By Catherine Gewertz — January 14, 2011 1 min read
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Remember just the other day when we were mentioning those hovering questions about states’ commitments to the common-core standards? I’m noticing reports from Utah and New Hampshire that tell us that state lawmakers there are rattling their swords about having their say. (Both states’ boards have adopted the standards, and I’m not aware of any provision in either state for the legislature to have a role in those decisions. But of course lawmakers hold the purse strings, so one never knows what ripples they can create if they get a mind to do so.)

It’s too soon to tell if these sentiments will get any traction. But it’s something that’s being watched by many sets of eyes. Note, for instance, this blog post from Missouri; some folks clearly have their eye on the Utah situation.

Some other common-core tidbits for you:

• The Thomas B. Fordham Foundation’s Mike Petrilli and the University of Arkansas’ Jay Greene go a few rounds on the common standards.

• Hayes Mizell discusses what states have to do to implement the common standards well. Mizell, an old hand at middle- and high-school reform, now blogs about professional development for us.

• Pearson, one of the education companies situating themselves to provide resources for common-core implementation, has pulled its offerings together on a new website. I noticed, also, that Pearson is offering a series of webinars with lead writers of the common-core standards. They’re also calling attention to their “close association” with those writers as they prepare to offer themselves as key helpers to schools in implementing the common core.

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A version of this news article first appeared in the Curriculum Matters blog.