Progress!

With California's inclusion in the final 18 states for round 2 of Race to the Top, the adoption of the Common Core standards seems even more likely next week. With $3.4 billion to distribute to a projected 10-12 winners, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will have extensive latitude in making the final awards. Interestingly, all of the finalists scored at least 400 points, which means that California's district-driven application has already made significant improvement over the state-based one in January.

One blog reader called to ask if my post from yesterday was intended to predict where the State Board of Education might arrange, rearrange or redefine the Common Core standards recommended by the commission. My apologies for readers who thought this was where I was headed.

To be clear, one argument raised during the commission's deliberations was that the way the commission was identifying 8th grade standards would lead to those students enrolled in Algebra 1 with the burden of meeting, essentially, all the standards for Algebra 1 and, additionally, those standards for students not enrolled in Algebra 1. The commission debated this point extensively and made clear that it was intending two distinct pathways and standards within the 8th grade.

In their recent op-ed, Commissioners Evers and Wurman raised again this concern, but I should clarify that the commission communicated its clear intent to State Board of Education, concerns notwithstanding.

Finally, judging by the various communications I'm getting, the testimony before the State Board next week promises to be all-encompassing. There will be direct support for and against the Common Core standards as recommended by the Standards Commission. There will be picayune points made about specific standards. And there will be a lot of forecasting about the long-term system building required to make the standards available for all students.