海角大神

The public got its first look Wednesday at the English and math academic standards that may eventually be the new norm for America鈥檚 K-12 schools 鈥� an important step in the Obama administration鈥檚 effort to raise expectations for what students should learn and to shift schools toward the goal of 鈥渃ollege and career readiness.鈥�

The 鈥渃ommon core鈥� standards 鈥� a product of the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and the National Governors Association (NGA) 鈥� have been in the works for almost a year, with academics and education officials working behind closed doors to draft a broad outline. The hope is that their work will eventually replace the current patchwork of state standards, which vary widely in rigor.

At least some analysts believe they鈥檙e on the right track.

鈥淵ou鈥檙e always going to have controversy 鈥� but it鈥檚 a very good draft,鈥� says Jack Jennings, president of the Center on Education Policy in Washington. 鈥淚t鈥檚 comprehensive, very sequential, and has good appendices.... It鈥檚 an exemplary piece of work.鈥�

Part of the goal of the initiative was to address the complaint among some educators that most current standards emphasize content knowledge over skills and are 鈥渁 mile wide and an inch deep.鈥�

The proposed standards in mathematics, for instance, emphasize the importance of mastering early principles and encourage the development of certain skills throughout grade levels, including abstract reasoning, problem solving, modeling, and constructing viable arguments.

鈥淭hese are written to emphasize getting the fundamentals down and to increase rigor over grades, so that by the time students get to high school, they are very well prepared for a rigorous high school curriculum,鈥� says Mike Cohen, president of Achieve, a standards-advocacy organization in Washington that has supported the project. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a stark contrast to what we鈥檝e had for a long time in this country.鈥�

In the draft math standards, eighth-graders would be expected to demonstrate knowledge of functions, linear equations, and the Pythagorean theorem. In language arts, they would be expected, among other things, to be able analyze a text鈥檚 meaning by referring to an author鈥檚 use of metaphors, analogies, or allusions.

The an extensive list of literary works in an appendix that illustrates the sorts of material students should be able to read and understand at different grade levels.

The draft of the standards is now open for public comments until April 2, and a final version is due to be released later this spring.

It鈥檚 unclear, however, how many states will adopt the standards. And even the project鈥檚 most ardent supporters acknowledge that adopting the standards is just a first step in effecting change.

鈥淪tandards per se just set the destination,鈥� says Chester Finn, president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute in Washington, in an e-mail response to questions. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e set a good one. To have a prayer of reaching that destination, however, requires 鈥� for starters 鈥� sound curriculum, effective instruction, and really good assessments. All of that heavy lifting still lies ahead.鈥�

Earlier efforts to set national standards in the 1990s failed, but some say the new effort has more hope of succeeding because it鈥檚 being developed by the states, rather than the federal government. Every state but Texas and Alaska has given support to the project, although only Kentucky has officially signed on to the new standards.

It remains controversial among some critics who see any attempt at common national standards 鈥� even ones developed by the states 鈥� as undermining the decentralized system that has always flourished in US education.

But others say it鈥檚 a crucial starting point for any attempt to improve education.

鈥淚t鈥檚 about time we had some agreement in this country about what kids should know by the time they leave high school,鈥� says Mr. Jennings. 鈥淲e鈥檝e spent too many decades chasing this reform and that reform and haven鈥檛 tried to agree on what kids should actually know.... This is a giant first step.鈥�