A cover story in today's NY Times on the AMAZING news that 39 states have adopted (or will soon adopt) common standards (DON'T SAY "NATIONAL" STANDARDS – it freaks some people out).  Arne Duncan is right – this IS a game-changer – assuming that it really happens (there's lots of execution risk – see next article):

Less than two months after the nation's governors and state school chiefs released their final recommendations for national education standards, 27 states have adopted them and about a dozen more are expected to do so in the next two weeks.

Their support has surprised many in education circles, given states' long tradition of insisting on retaining local control over curriculum.

The quick adoption of common standards for what students should learn in English and math each year from kindergarten through high school is attributable in part to the Obama administration's Race to the Top competition. States that adopt the standards by Aug. 2 win points in the competition for a share of the $3.4 billion to be awarded in September.

"I'm ecstatic," said Arne Duncan, the secretary of education. "This has been the third rail of education, and the fact that you're now seeing half the nation decide that it's the right thing to do is a game-changer."

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Many States Adopt National Standards for Their Schools

 

By TAMAR LEWIN

Published: July 21, 2010

www.nytimes.com/2010/07/21/education/21standards.html