States Seen as Staying the Course On Standards

By Lynn Olson

Six months after the 1999 National Education Summit, 38 states have met a deadline for detailing how they plan to make standards a reality in classrooms.

The responses, submitted to Achieve Inc., the Cambridge, Mass.-based group that was the principal sponsor of the summit, outline what states plan to do, or are already doing, in three areas: improving educator quality, helping all students meet high standards, and strengthening accountability.

"The good news is, not only are the states staying the course with standards, assessments, and accountability," said Robert Schwartz, the president of Achieve, "but I think there's pretty solid evidence—looking across these plans—that states are not simply stopping with raising the bar, and shouting at kids and teachers to jump higher, but are moving to...