NCSL Declares Opposition to National Standards, Citing Flaws in NCLB
The National Conference of State Legislatures today took a hard-line against any form of national academic standards, declaring that any attempt to unite school curricula across states would be unacceptable until perceived flaws in the federal No Child Left Behind Act are fixed.
The strongly worded new policy against national standards—even voluntary ones—prompted virtually no debate today and was approved on a voice vote during the Denver-based group’s business meeting at its annual conference here, which drew nearly 9,000 attendees. NCSL policies such as the new one on national standards set the Washington lobbying agenda of the legislative group.
The policy reads, in part: “We need rigorous state standards that are anchored in real world demands. … This can be most readily accomplished through individual state refinement of standards … not through federal action—which flies in the face not only of the role of states since the inception of our system of providing education, but the historical role of states and local school districts in funding education...
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