Senate Panel Weighs Standards, ESEA Renewal

Washington

The nation needs more rigorous and uniform academic standards, but it’s best if states take charge of the effort, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle said Wednesday at a Senate hearing on reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, the chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, said that one of the many problems with the current version of the ESEA, the 8-year-old No Child Left Behind Act, is that states don’t necessarily have to set their standards so that students are ready for college or a career. As a result, nearly 60 percent of students entering postsecondary schools need remedial coursework before they can start earning college credit.

“The good news is that once again states are taking the lead” in addressing that issue, Sen. Harkin said, referring to an effort by the Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Governors Association to establish such standards. So far, 48 states and the District of Columbia have joined that effort, known as the Common...