So, how do we ensure that our students have the knowledge and skills necessary to graduate from high school, pass the entrance exams for college or compete in our global world?

The answer seems to be in setting a national standard of expectations in how we educate our children. These standards exist in all our states, but, they are not the same across the board. They tend to be too low and too different from each other. We need a single national standard for all areas of learning. We need to set our goals high. All children should be capable of learning at a higher standard then they currently are.

No Child Left Behind does not set a national standard. Instead, they allow the individual states to set their own standards. Most states adopt low standards because they can produce higher passing rates, which make the schools look good in the eyes of the parents and community. Most parents don't know what the proficiency levels are for their student's grade level.

Currently, only three states have proficiency standards equal to those of the most educationally demanding nations, this is according to the American Enterprise Institute's study along with Harvard University. Those states are Massachusetts, Missouri and South Carolina. According to the same group, Georgia and Tennessee students who are declared proficient are often neither literate or numerate.

So far, 47 of the nation's governors have signed a plan to develop national standards in reading and math. This should also include all the core academic areas of English, science and social science. It has been suggested that this could be addressed in NCLB, which is coming up for reauthorization.

A suggestion was made that the law might link some percentage of the per-pupil federal funding according to how difficult the state standards were. This could result in giving the larger amount of funding per pupil to the states with the highest standards. Over time, the various definitions of proficiency would become more rigorous, as states competed with each other for federal dollars. I suggest this would not be the best idea.

Instead, we need a national set of standards that evolves accordingly with the global economy. Our schools should be equipped with the necessary tools to allow our students to build on the information they acquire over the course of their educational experience. Schools should be safe, positive environments in which our children want to learn. They should be open to the community in order to teach beyond the classroom. Our students need to learn what it means to be part of a community. They need the tools that will help them to survive in today's global community. We, as a nation, need to set our educational goals for our young people high.

Currently, many of our schools across the nation are in trouble of losing teachers, extracurricular activities, field trips, special programs and much more. We are having to tighten our belts because the economy is not good. But, this is not all due to the economy. Our schools have been run into the ground because of poor management, unwise decisions and a lack of community involvement. It's time for change.



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