We are pleased to share an article recently published on The Washington Post about a collective agreement to develop and adopt voluntary common standards for what children should know in reading and math in the United States, which is being backed by 46 states and the District of Columbia. The article makes three important observations. First, this agreement has emerged from the bottom up (the states) rather than from the top down (the federal government), which may suggest that local buy-in is key to standards reform. Second, while an inclusive standard-setting process is both desirable and necessary, such a collective effort will likely lead to a substantial deliberation during which the initiative may be diluted or lose momentum. Finally, while standards are needed to set minimum learning aspirations, tests and accountability mechanisms linked to these goals must accompany them to make sure that these expectations are met.
