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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 approved the substitution of the common standards in mathematics and English/language arts for the state鈥檚 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 curriculum guidance to districts.
The Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Governors Association are spearheading what is known as the . The K-12 standards crafted as part of that initiative are still in draft form, with a final version expected by early spring. (鈥淩eviewers Urge Standards Fixes,鈥� Feb. 3, 2010.)
In making their decisions, the Kentucky boards relied on late-stage drafts that have been circulating among state officials for review. But their decisions direct their staffs to implement the final version of the common standards once it is completed. The state will also wait for the final version to begin the normal 30-day regulatory-review period, officials said.
Legislative Mandate
The state education department plans to train teachers on the common standards this summer so they can begin teaching to them next fall. It plans to administer assessments designed for the common standards in spring 2012.
Gov. Steven L. Beshear, a Democrat, attended the joint meeting and expressed support for the boards鈥� votes, as did the two chairmen of the state legislature鈥檚 education committees. President Barack Obama and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan are strong supporters of the common-standards initiative, and have said states will have a better chance at federal stimulus money in the Race to the Top competition if they pledge to support the work. All states but Alaska and Texas have done so.
Gene Wilhoit, the executive director of the CCSSO, said in an e-mail that Kentucky鈥檚 adoption of the common standards reflects 鈥渁 united state leadership unlike any I have seen.鈥�
鈥淭hey are pulling together in very impressive ways,鈥� said Mr. Wilhoit, a former commissioner of education in Kentucky.
The unusual level of cooperation among the three boards is required by by the Kentucky legislature. A sweeping revision of the state鈥檚 standards and accountability system, the measure mandates, among other provisions, that the education department, the , and the collaborate on new standards that are narrower and deeper, and better aligned with college expectations.
The collaboration could lead to a larger role for higher education in supplying ongoing professional development for the teachers it trains, said Robert L. King, the president of the Council on Postsecondary Education, which sets policy for the state鈥檚 24 public two- and four-year colleges.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been articulating a much broader relationship [with teachers] that goes beyond the time they are students in our classrooms preparing to go into teaching,鈥� he said.
The council has already been providing professional development, in math and English/language arts, to classroom teachers through two university-based centers, Mr. King said. He is now discussing with state Commissioner of Education Terry K. Holliday ways to scale up that operation, including training teachers in working with the common standards.
鈥淚 believe higher education can play a very positive role in this respect,鈥� Mr. King said.
Mr. Holliday said he sees the common-standards adoption as an important next step in Kentucky鈥檚 work pioneering standards-based education. The state adopted its own standards as part of a nationally watched 1990 legislative overhaul of its education system.
鈥淜entucky led education reform in the early 1990s, and we鈥檙e very committed to continuing to do that,鈥� Mr. Holliday said.
Bringing the state鈥檚 47,000 teachers up to speed on the new standards, and helping them translate those ideas into curriculum for the classroom, will take time and money, educators said.
Lu S. Young, the superintendent of the 7,600-student Jessamine County district, said she is excited about the common standards鈥� potential to facilitate teachers鈥� sharing鈥攅ven across states鈥攐f great ideas about instructional strategies and units of study. But she cautioned that the standards can鈥檛 be implemented well without the time and training to enable conversation, planning, and curriculum-writing in local districts.
鈥淭eachers need time to reach agreement on what the standards mean for day-to-day instruction,鈥� said Ms. Young, who chairs a panel that advises the state education department on curriculum, instruction, and assessment issues.
Financial Limitations
Democratic state Rep. Harry Moberly, one of the co-authors of last year鈥檚 bill mandating the new standards, said the education department and higher education council have requested money for training on the common standards. Lawmakers will consider it as they weigh a fiscal 2011 budget, he said, but their ability to deliver might be 鈥渟omewhat limited鈥� because of the economic downturn. He expressed hope for the funding, saying he considers implementation of the common standards 鈥渕omentous鈥� in the state鈥檚 bid to prepare students to compete in a global economy.
Some Kentucky teachers have grave reservations about the common-standards initiative. Brent McKim, the president of the Jefferson County Teachers Association, a 5,700-member affiliate of the National Education Association, said he doesn鈥檛 believe the standards will resolve the problem of having to teach too much material in too little time.
鈥淭hey haven鈥檛 used a design that takes into account the amount of time we have available,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e jumping on a bandwagon we should not be jumping on.鈥�
But the president of the statewide teachers鈥� union disagreed. Kentucky teachers have been feeling that the current state standards are 鈥渨ay too broad and not nearly deep enough,鈥� said Sharron K. Oxendine, the president of the 41,000-member Kentucky Education Association, also an NEA affiliate. She hopes that by attempting to take a 鈥渇ewer, clearer, higher鈥� approach, the common standards will enable teachers to cover critical key areas in more depth.
鈥淎ny time a large group of people go through a huge change like this, it鈥檚 obviously going to be very difficult at first,鈥� Ms. Oxendine said. 鈥淏ut I鈥檓 optimistic that we鈥檒l be able to say this is what we鈥檝e needed for so, so long.鈥�
