This afternoon, Dane Linn , director of the education division for the National Governors Association and Gene Wilhoit , executive director of the Council of Chief State School Officers updated everyone on the ongoing effort to develop common standards. They said 41 states showed up to a recent meeting they held. ???The initial response to this idea is very very positive,??? Wilhoit said. Linn said they're asking each state to commit both their governor and their K-12 commissioner to the process. Meanwhile, here are a few questions, answers and discussion points that popped up in the final panel of the day:
Do national standards mean loss of local control? Michael Casserly , executive director of the Council of the Great City Schools answered this one. In part, he pointed out that local schools currently have no control over standards, so moving it to the federal level wouldn't change that. National standards would provide a bit of consistency, clarity and direction, he said, but states would still control funding, monitoring, reporting, credentials and the like.
What is the role of philanthropy in all of this? This question was aptly posed to Stefanie Sanford of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Sanford noted that while philanthropy does play a key role, the actual pot of money is just a fraction of total education spending. So the key, she said, is to use the money to ???do things that government can't.??? As the common standards process has evolved over the years, philanthropy has tried to nurture and support it. But will philanthropic leaders play hardball with states and others that refuse join the program? That's something they're ???wrestling with like crazy??? at the moment, she said.
What should the role of the federal government be in the common standards effort? John Engler , president of the National Association of Manufacturers and the former governor of Michigan, said government can of course provide funding because ???this is expensive stuff.??? He also suggested federal government could provide rewards for states that choose to sign on to common high standards ??? perhaps waiving the adequate yearly progress (AYP) requirements under the No Child Left Behind act?
All in all an interesting and informative discussion today. You can also read some highlights of the event on our Twitter page .