Arne Duncan, the U.S. Secretary of Education, is making a push to develop a national standard for reading and math for our nation’s students. The current standards for America’s students is as unstable as an earthquake, with the pass rates looking more like Richter scale readings than level measure of national aptitude. One state may have a certain number grade that is good enough to pass while another might have something far lower. To help flatten and raise the uneven bar of school success, Mr. Duncan is offering federal cash incentives to states that join this reform – so far 46 states have joined the effort. As the old saying goes, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Mr. Duncan hopes this effort to balance America’s educational strength will lead to an improved school system that will always be stable but will never stand still.
America’s education system has an inner ear infection when it comes to standardization – it’s totally out of balance. Since education decisions are controlled by the states individually and cannot be controlled by the federal government, a failing grade in one state might be a passing grade in another. Since Mr. Duncan can’t force the states to adopt a uniform standard, he can give them incentives to go along with his plan. According to the Associated Press, he is willing to dedicate up to $350 million in federal funds to nudge the states to go along with his homogenous solution to America’s education mix up. This will be the largest investment the federal government has made to regulate and make linear the acceptable pass and fail rates for math and science.
Traditionally it would be a major blunder for a politician to push for a standard regulation of education among all our states. However, there is a change in climate, and as Duncan himself said, “What you’ve seen over the past couple years is a growing recognition from political leaders, educators, unions, nonprofits — literally every sector — coming to realize that 50 states doing their own thing doesn’t make sense.” When a president takes a chance and leads for the sake of equality and standard treatment and expectations, the nation historically becomes a stronger union. As Christopher Hitchens wrote of Abraham Lincoln, “before Gettysburg, people would say, ‘the United States are …’ After Gettysburg, they began to say, ‘the United States is.’” Obama’s Lincolnesque ideology of collective change and improvement is becoming more and more evident as his administration ripens. To take strong and necessary steps is the job of strong and necessary leaders.
We are in the midst of a vortex of positive change. It will be a hard road ahead for sure. Alaska, Missouri, South Carolina and Texas have not signed on, and just an agreement by forty six states to make an effort will not effectively change decades of bad design. The expense may take more than the money so far promised by Mr. Duncan. Assessments for a standardized structure are extremely expensive and may hiccup if not given enough federal backing. However, this does not shake Mr. Duncan’s confidence. He has the courage, and expects the backbone of governors, teachers and the students to be sturdy and ready for the heavy lifting ahead. Most things worth achieving require a beautiful struggle to acquire. Help spread the weight, lighten the burden, and raise the bar of America’s education.