Govs, educators propose common standards

WASHINGTON, March 10 (UPI) -- U.S. governors and school superintendents offered rigorous national standards Wednesday for what public school children should learn in math and English.

The blueprint, a key part of U.S. President Barack Obama's effort to raise academic standards nationwide, spells out what children should learn in the two subjects year by year from kindergarten through 12th grade.

Those who worked on the plan said it would replace a patchwork of widely varying standards throughout the nation with common standards.

Experts said the standards, which have the backing of many states, could have profound effects on public school education in America.

"I'd say this is one of the most important events of the last several years in American education," Chester Finn Jr., a former assistant secretary of education, told The New York Times.

"Now we have the possibility that, for the first time, states could come together around new standards and high school graduation requirements that are ambitious and coherent. This is a big deal," said Finn, who has advocated national standards for almost two decades.

The National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School officers released the first public draft as part of the Common Core State Standards Initiative.

The proposal details the knowledge and skills students should have so they will be able to succeed in college courses and workforce training programs.

The standards call for "rigorous content and application of knowledge through high-order skills," with schoolwork challenging enough to keep American student competitive with those of other top-performing countries.

"Common education standards and assessments aligned to those standards ... will allow for an authentic, credible scoreboard that tells us how we are doing compared to students in other states," said Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue, co-chairman of the standards initiative.