Reviewers Disappointed in States' Mathematics and Science Standards

By Millicent Lawton

The standards states are setting for student performance in math and science are disappointingly low, a pair of studies say, and are, for the most part, unlikely to boost U.S. students' achievement.

The new critiques of state standards documents found that in math just three states out of 46 studied earned A's for their outlines of what student should know and be able to do in the subject. States scored a bit better for their science standards, with six out of 36 states receiving A's.

But more than one-third of the states received F's for their math standards, and one out of four of the...