Has the Time Come for National Standards?

At the initiative of state governors, education leaders and the Obama administration, fresh efforts are under way to jump-start a conversation about developing national standards for U.S. schools. The latest ASCD Infobrief examines how adopting national standards would help students moving to different areas or school systems, describes how Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has challenged states to raise standards and become models for the rest of the nation, shares states' opinions on the issue and highlights some concerns about further federal involvement in education. The brief also looks at what national standards could look like, and how we can turn the vision into reality.