Legislation Calls for Voluntary National Standards

On Tuesday, January 9, Sen. Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut and Rep. Vernon J. Ehlers of Michigan introduced legislation that would establish voluntary national standards in math and science. The Standards to Provide Educational Achievement for Kids (SPEAK) Act would amend the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) by Directing the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) to develop rigorous, voluntary core math and science standards for grades K-12 anchored in the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Providing grants to states that meet NAGB content criteria and adjust teacher certification and proficiency levels to match. Allowing the Secretary of Education to extend NCLB's implementation requirements for participating states.

Aimed at standardizing proficiency targets in math and science, the bill
(S. 244/H.R. 325) comes on the tails of legislation introduced on
January 4, 2007by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, chair
of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.

As reported in the January 9th issue of This Week in Washington, Kennedy's
legislation calls for state academic standards to be aligned with international
standards and would require states to align standards with college entrance
requirements but does not call for national standards.