Hole punched in national standards effort

By Jim Stergios
March 12th, 2010

As Sam Dillon of the New York Times noted our opposition to the national standards effort because it would weaken the Massachusetts standards.

And now the opposition builds. Governor Pawlenty of Minnesota punched a hole in the life raft that the Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Governors Association are drifting along on, together with all their fellow travelers, by refusing to join the national standards effort because it would entail weakening the state’s math standards:

“The math portion of the draft K-12 education standards unveiled today would water down Minnesota’s rigorous standards that require students to take algebra by eighth grade. In a hypercompetitive world, Minnesota should not adopt less rigorous standards than we currently have in place.”

Yup. Minnesota is important because it is, like Massachusetts, one of the nation’s leading educational systems. More states to come, and let’s hope Secretary Reville and Commissioner Chester stay true to their word and refuse to adopt anything less rigorous than our great standards.