In National First, Kentucky Adopts Common Standards

Kentucky has become the first state to adopt common academic standards that were drafted as part of a nationwide initiative to establish a widely shared and ambitious vision of student learning.

With a unanimous vote this month, the Kentucky board of education approved the substitution of the common standards in mathematics and English/language arts for the state’s own standards in those two subjects.

Then, in a rare joint session, the panel met in Frankfort with the two boards that oversee teacher licensure and public higher education in the state and adopted a resolution directing the staffs of all three agencies to begin incorporating the standards into their work. That will mean determining what changes are needed so that the common standards are reflected in the preparation and testing of new teachers, the design of professional development for current teachers, and the way the state provides K-12...