[ti:Considering National Education Standards] [ar:Steve Ember] [al:Education Report] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]This is the VOA Special English [00:02.89]Education Report. [00:05.19]Americans are considering [00:07.25]national education standards [00:09.73]recently developed by teachers [00:12.60]and other education experts. [00:15.64]The National Governors Association [00:18.32]and the Council of Chief [00:20.62]State School Officers [00:22.55]led the effort. [00:24.48]The United States, [00:26.16]unlike other nations, [00:27.77]has never had the same school [00:30.51]standards across the country. [00:33.31]The reason? Education [00:35.49]is not discussed in the Constitution. [00:38.97]That document limits the responsibilities [00:42.76]of the federal government. [00:45.00]Other responsibilities, like education, [00:48.67]fall to the individual states. [00:51.91]Local control of education probably [00:55.70]was a good idea two hundred years ago. [00:59.37]People stayed in the same place [01:01.92]and schools knew what students [01:05.09]needed to learn. But today, [01:08.21]people move to different cities. [01:10.94]And some people work at jobs that [01:14.05]did not exist even twenty years ago. [01:17.91]Many American educators say [01:20.77]that getting a good education [01:22.76]should not depend on where you live. [01:25.93]They say that some states [01:28.73]have lowered their standards [01:31.16]in order to increase student [01:33.90]scores on tests required [01:36.63]by the No Child Left Behind Act. [01:40.49]Kara Schlosser is communications [01:43.85]director for the Council of Chief [01:46.46]State School Officers. [01:48.26]She says the new standards [01:51.25]clearly state what a student [01:53.86]should be able to do to be [01:56.35]successful in college and work. [02:00.14]The standards deal with language [02:02.94]and mathematics in every grade [02:06.05]from kindergarten through high school. [02:09.10]For example, in first grade, [02:12.52]students should be asking [02:14.58]and answering questions [02:16.94]about something they read. [02:19.36]In mathematics, students [02:22.10]should be working with shapes [02:24.22]in kindergarten and angles [02:27.20]in fourth grade. [02:29.07]Forty-eight states have already [02:32.43]shown approval for the standards. [02:34.98]Two states reject the idea. [02:38.34]Critics say that working toward [02:41.20]the same standards in every state [02:44.31]will not guarantee excellence for all. [02:47.92]Some educators in Massachusetts say [02:52.02]adopting the proposal [02:54.07]will hurt their students because [02:57.31]the state standards are even higher. [03:01.23]Others say the change will be too costly, [03:05.77]requiring new textbooks and different [03:09.62]kinds of training for teachers. [03:12.36]Still others fear federal [03:16.59]interference or control. [03:18.33]Supporters say the standards [03:21.69]are goals and do not tell states [03:25.92]or teachers how to teach. [03:29.09]They also say the federal government [03:32.82]is not forcing acceptance. [03:35.87]However, approving the standards [03:39.23]will help states qualify [03:43.00]for some federal grant money. [03:46.23]And that's the VOA Special English [03:49.65]Education Report, [03:51.27]written by Nancy Steinbach. [03:53.38]I'm Steve Ember.