Some states not signing on to common standards
Fall 09 -- Considering the political obstacles that plagued previous attempts to create national standards, the National Governors Association (NGA) and Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) have been astonishingly successful in enlisting state leaders in their current effort.
Only four states -- Alaska, Missouri, South Carolina, and Texas -- have failed to sign on.
In Texas, state leaders say they’re not opposed to the goals of the Common Core State Standards Initiative led by NGA and CCSSO. But, after making a significant investment in developing their current standards and assessments system, they’ve no interest in starting over.
“The state board of education just approved new math, science, and English language arts curriculum and recently adopted new math textbooks,” Texas Commissioner of Education Robert Scott said in a statement shared with School Board News. “If we align with national standards, it would cost about $3 billion just to replace the textbooks.”
That’s not an unreasonable stance, says Michael Petrilli, vice president for national programs and policy for the Thomas B. Fordham Institute.
“Most other states don’t make the same sort of statewide investments in textbooks that Texas does, which is why [other states] are less concerned about costs,” he adds. “One of the major worries [of the initiative] is that educators will be frustrated with new standards, as many of them just got used to the existing ones.”
At NGA, Dane Linn, director of public policy, says his organization understands the concerns of states like Texas and are ready to welcome them into the initiative should they change their minds. “We’ll have a mechanism so that they can join in.”
In Alaska, former Gov. Sarah Palin also released a statement indicating that her state’s past investment in education was a factor in her decision to stand apart on the standards initiative.
Although she indicated she’d “monitor” the initiative’s work, she didn’t want to distract state officials or resources “from existing efforts to improve instruction in the classroom.” But, she added, “if this initiative produces useful results, Alaska will remain free to incorporate them into our own standards.”
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon already has signed a memorandum of agreement to join the standards effort. But the state’s formal admission to the initiative is delayed because NGA and CCSSO officials also require the signature of state’s chief education official, and Missouri’s education commissioner, Kent King, died in January.
The final holdout is South Carolina -- but not because of opposition or reluctance on the part of State Superintendent of Education Jim Rex. Gov. Mark Sanford has refused to co-sign the state’s memorandum of agreement with the initiative.
But Rex has said South Carolina education officials will participate “to whatever extend possible.”
“I’ve been assured by CCSSO that South Carolina will not be excluded from these worthwhile discussions due to the governor’s refusal,” he announced in June. “In Monday’s global economy, the idea of each state having its own unique academic standards makes very little sense.”
Reproduced with permission from School Board News. Copyright © 2009, National School Boards Association. Opinions expressed in this newspaper do not necessarily reflect positions of NSBA. This article may be printed out and photocopied for individual or educational use, provided this copyright notice appears on each copy. This article may not be otherwise transmitted or reproduced in print or electronic form without the consent of the Publisher. For more information, call (703) 838-6789.