Several governors are signaling that their states like their own academic standards better than the Common Core drafts and aren't going to make the change. This, actually, is a good thing, at least for now. It signals that they're examining their own standards and taking Common Core seriously and beginning to make comparisons. (Later this year, Fordham will do the same--for every state.) Nobody should hastily or blindly change their standards. It's way too important a decision. Common Core isn't likely to make sense everywhere, at least not everywhere at the same time. Some states will observe others before deciding. This is inevitable and unreprehensible. What would be reprehensible would be for states to reject Common Core because they don't have what it takes--and it'll take a lot--to implement these new standards in a conscientious way. Of course some states--one cannot avoid California in this context--already have good standards that they don't conscientiously implement.
--Chester E. Finn, Jr.
