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A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Raising Standards, Lifting Children

Every child in America deserves an excellent education. In order to strengthen the culture that binds our nation together, renew the democracy that empowers us all, and ensure that everyone enjoys the bounty of a strong economy, we must challenge all our children to read well, do difficult math, learn history, and understand science.

Under President Bush's plan, states will set challenging standards in the core subjects of reading and math. Well-crafted standards must explain in plain language exactly what students should know and be able to do by the end of each grade. They must set clear expectations so that teachers, parents and communities can all understand what should take place in the classroom.

We know from business practices that if we want to boost performance, we must set clear, measurable goals and align our systems to them. In education, academic standards are the foundation of a performance-based system. High standards do not just help teachers; they also encourage children, because children tend to perform to meet the expectations of adults. If these expectations are low, children can miss their true potential. When expectations are high, progress can be amazing.

Read your state's education standards for any grade level. Think about them in the context of your local economy and the direction you want it to take. Do the standards seem rigorous enough? If not, tell the people who set them or help to set new ones. Public standards need input from business leaders, civic leaders and parents—not just education professionals. Engage in a conversation about standards and do something to understand and shape them.

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Last updated—December 17, 2004 (jer)