State Lawmakers Weigh Issue of National Standards

Washington

Supporters of national standards have found a fresh carrot to dangle before state legislators, who usually resist any federal reach into their business: more flexibility in implementing the federal No Child Left Behind Act, in exchange for embracing 50-state academic standards.

And the Denver-based National Conference of State Legislatures, which debated the issue of national standards at its spring meeting in Washington, was working to hammer out a stand on the issue as it prepared to adjourn its annual spring forum here late last week.

The way to fix problems with the NCLB law, which is up for renewal this year, is with a “grand bargain,” Michael J. Petrilli, a vice president with the Washington-based Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, told legislators at a panel discussion April 19. “We should have clear national standards and expectations and, in return, we should have...