Standards for what kids need to know

By James B. Hunt Jr. and Jeb Bush


Right now, the No. 1 issue facing America’s governors is the economy. In the short term, the focus, rightly, is on creating jobs and spurring growth to get our economy back on track. But nothing matters more to our long-term economic health and stability than the quality of education in classrooms today.

The challenges are clear. The high-wage jobs of the future will require a higher level of knowledge, particularly in math, science, engineering and technology. Today’s global economy means America’s students will compete with students from around the world — not just around the block — for those high-wage jobs.

The first step is ensuring our expectations for education are aligned with the reality of the world they will enter when they graduate. That starts with higher, more rigorous and consistent academic standards for all students — in every grade, in every school and in every state. Making these standards specific and clear also ensures everyone — students, parents, teachers and policymakers — has the same expectation for what kids must learn every year.

State leaders and educators are leading the effort to create model content standards to accomplish this goal.

More than a year ago, the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers began working together to create standards for math and language arts that will help teachers prepare our children for success in college and work.

On March 10, these “Common Core State Standards” were released for feedback from the public before they are finalized. These standards draw on the best state academic standards in America and were drafted by experts from across the country — a brain trust no single state could assemble on its own. The standards are more rigorous and more relevant to the real world, yet simple enough for parents and teachers to understand.

While the Common Core State Standards clearly define what our children need to know, they do not tell our teachers how to teach. States, communities and schools have the flexibility to determine how to help students meet — and exceed — these new expectations.

While consensus is good, it shouldn’t stifle excellence. States should be encouraged to raise the bar even higher — above and beyond what is required by the Common Core State Standards.

Rigorous academic standards, alone, will not improve the quality of education. Careful implementation of Common Core State Standards would include a strong, aligned curriculum, solid instruction, meaningful assessments, and excellent teachers and leaders. There should be more widespread technology for teaching and learning, such as using computers for adaptive testing and virtual learning.

Charter schools are also an important option and should be held to the same standards of excellence as all public schools and accountable for student achievement. A commitment to these common sense reforms will create a world-class education, which can ultimately fuel the world economy.

As former governors, we believe a state-led approach to reform will yield a higher quality of education across the nation. Establishing a core set of academic standards will invite competition and innovation for achieving — and exceeding — them.

Ultimately, those forces of change will lead to excellence in the classroom. That is something we can all agree on. Our economy requires it, and our children and our future deserve no less.

James B. Hunt Jr. is the former Democratic governor of North Carolina and Jeb Bush is the former Republican governor of Florida.