According to this story:<\/p>\n
Forty-six states and the District of Columbia today will announce an effort to craft a single vision for what children should learn each year from kindergarten through high school graduation… [And]<\/p>\n
[It is being led] by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers…<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
It appears that the immediate agreement is to produce English and mathematics standards.\u00a0 Additionally,<\/p>\n
leaders in Texas, Alaska, Missouri and South Carolina are the only ones that have not signed on.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The process for setting these standards are interesting.<\/p>\n
By July, groups of experts already at work are expected to unveil “readiness standards” for high school graduates in reading and math …. There will be no prescription for how teachers get there, avoiding nettlesome discussions about whether phonics or whole language is a better method of teaching reading ….\u00a0 For now, the organizers are keeping secret the names of experts who are combing education research and putting together the standards, to protect them from being bombarded by reporters and interest groups. Later, a separate national “validation” panel, made of up of experts nominated by the states, will review the proposal.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Once the standards are created, the individual states, obviously, would have to formally adopt them and take the requisite steps to implement them (including, presumably, crafting curricula, tests, and providing for the training of teachers in the standards and curricula.)<\/p>\n