Christopher Sopher sits down with the leaders of the new initiative to create national education standards:
The National Governors Association first declared its support for national education standards in 1989, with then-President George H.W. Bush’s blessing. Yet despite efforts during both the Bush and Clinton years, no common standards system ever emerged.
Now that could change. On June 1, 46 states, 3 territories, and the standardized-testing industry announced an initiative aimed at changing that. The stakeholders have promised to work together to create national curriculum standards — but crucially, have not agreed on how to actually implement them in each state. The Prospect talked with Scott Montgomery, deputy executive director of the Council of Chief State School Officers, and Dane Linn, director of education for the National Governors’ Association Center for Best Practices, whose organizations are leading the coalition, about how this initiative is different that past national standards efforts and what challenges lie ahead.
