The NYT's editorials continue to be spot on – this one supports the new national standards:
The countries that have left the United States behind in math and science education have one thing in common: They offer the same high education standards — often the same curriculum — from one end of the nation to the other. The United States relies on a generally mediocre patchwork of standards that vary, not just from state to state, but often from district to district. A child's education depends primarily on ZIP code.
That could eventually change if the states adopt the new rigorous standards proposed last week by the National Governors Association and a group representing state school superintendents. The proposal lays out clear, ambitious goals for what children should learn year to year and could change curriculums, tests and teacher training.
…The new standards provide an excellent starting point for the task of remaking public schooling in the United States.
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March 14, 2010
Editorial
www.nytimes.com/2010/03/14/opinion/14sun1.html
National School Standards, at Last