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Posted on 06/04/2009 6:41:15 PM PDT by markomalley
Gov. Sarah Palin has opted out of an effort to develop national education standards for reading and math curricula, a decision that has riled some but satisfied other Alaskan education officials, the Anchorage Daily News reports.
Forty-six states have agreed to help create the Common Core State Standards Initiative, an effort to allow states to compare their students' academic progress at each grade level using a single rubric. Alaska joins Missouri, South Carolina, and Texas on the shortlist of states that have bowed out of the attempt to form what many believe education in the United States has lacked for too long: a common denominator.
Carol Comeau, superintendent of the Anchorage School District, said she was disappointed in Palin's decision. Alaska's pupils have a right to know how they measure up against their peers in other parts of the country, Comeau said. The Anchorage School District serves nearly half of Alaska's 120,000 public school students.
Others say Palin is right to question whether national standards will work in Alaska's unique public school system, one where students frequently learn in small, isolated, mixed-grade classrooms. State Education Commissioner Larry LeDoux said Alaska can always adopt the standards after other states write them. Participating in the process now would indicate implied consent to adopt the standards later, he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at usnews.com ...
Wise move.
What the Hell is wrong with states? Why even be a state then?
When GWB was in office, he was slammed continually for wanting to impose national standards on schools, which he never supported. Whether or not it is a good idea is debatable. It is strange, however, that it is happening now with very little complaint. Everything is "but, that's different."
Sarah Palin is a true leader.
Alaska’s pupils have a right to know how they measure up against their peers in other parts of the country, ............... Hmmmmmm if Comeau wants an indicator have her watch re runs of “Jay Walking”. To me, that would be a very big indicator of how they would match up with other parts of the country.
Funny, I thought the SAT’s and the ACT’s did that.
Excellent observation: “why even be a state then?”
I like her so much. She keeps doing many things right.
I am glad to see TX is on the list of those not participating.
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Sarah was very much right to NOT be involved with this mess.
One of the problems with such a national standard is who writes the standard? Far Left leaning people with an agenda!
The far lefties write the curriculum in many states so even if you live in a conservative area, your kids are learning about having two daddies or two mommies, the important founders of our country (excluding all those dead white guys though!), etc, etc, etc.
This would be more of the same at the national level - so states that DON’T follow the leftists agenda get pilloried for their poor scores.
How do you compare a child who lives in the Y-K delta and speaks Y’upik (as a primary language) to a ghetto rat from Liberty City FL? Short answer - you can't. Period. Dot.
There is no National Education Standard that can be written that can cover such a vast differences in culture, ethnicity and regional (dialect, associations, etc, etc) - it's pipe dream of control freaks.
National literacy standards, yes. Minimum math skills, maybe. There is no universal solvent.
Education is a STATES RIGHTS issue and NOT listed under Congresses powers in the Constitution.
Maybe those who disagree with Gov Palin need to review the US Constitution over the summer.
Oh, federalism is SO reactionary, y’know.
Which makes the fact that George the Last signed it even more odious. Let's face it, Bush was a disaster.
BDS
There were things he was for that I did not support. I would call the o a disaster, but not W.
No. Truth.
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