Draft Common Standards Elicit Kudos and Criticism

Math and English draft elicits kudos and doubts.

The first public draft of grade-by-grade common standards was released last week to a mix of praise and skepticism, illustrating both the mounting consensus that the country needs to set higher expectations for all students and the many problems that complicate their adoption.

An earlier standards document, released last fall, outlined a set of “college and career readiness” skills that students should master by graduation. The document released March 10, from the same common-standards initiative, completes the picture by specifying the competencies students must have in each grade if they are to reach those goals. Merged now into one draft, the standards represent a sweeping—and controversial—attempt to describe the skills and knowledge every American student should have in English/language arts and mathematics to thrive in college or careers.

In 62 pages, the English/language arts standards aim to “lay out a vision of what it means to be a literate person in the 21st century,” able to tackle complex works of literature and nonfiction, sift critically through the masses of information available online, and marshal evidence to build compelling arguments. The draft document describes how the standards break down into skills in reading, writing, listening, speaking, and language usage. It also details specific literacy skills students need to help them understand coursework in science...