The Salt Lake Tribune (Utah) June 4, 2010

HEADLINE: Math, reading standards could become more rigorous in Utah schools

Upgrade: State would overhaul its curricula in those subjects should the plan gain OK in August

By List Schencker

Math and language arts standards likely will become more rigorous in Utah schools.

As part of a widespread movement toward common academic goals, the Utah Board of Education gave preliminary approval Friday to a new set of language arts and mathematics standards for children in grades K-12, developed for a group of 48 states, two territories and the District of Columbia. If the plan gains final approval in August, state officials plan to overhaul Utah's language arts and math curricula over the next five years to reflect the new goals, which are more ambitious in some ways than Utah's current ones, said Brenda Hales, state associate superintendent.

"They are high standards," said state Superintendent Larry Shumway. "They are high and they are rigorous. I don't have any doubt they will be a step forward for us as a state."

The goals, also known as Common Core State Standards, dictate which concepts children should learn in each grade. They were developed as part of a states-led effort coordinated by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers to help get states on the same page academically. Now, each state decides when to teach what concepts, leading to confusion for students who move and making state-to-state comparisons difficult.

When children move between states, they often find themselves behind or ahead of their classmates in certain areas.

"The current system is chaotic," Hales said. "We wouldn't stand for it in the medical field if every state designed its own method of taking blood pressure and had its own system. This is a move in the right direction."

The new goals differ from Utah's current ones in a number of ways. For example, now all Utah students are supposed to understand place value and number relationships by the end of second grade. The new goals move those lessons to first grade. Also, under the new goals, students would learn in third grade how to add and subtract fractions, which Utah students now learn in fourth grade. The new standards also address reading comprehension earlier and in more depth than Utah's current ones, Hales said.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has expressed support for the common standards, calling them "an important step toward the improvement of quality education nationwide." But critics of the movement say education decisions should be made locally, and putting everyone on the same page academically is not necessarily the way to improve education.

State board members gave the rules unanimous preliminary approval Friday, though some initially worried about approving the standards without having had time to read them thoroughly. The standards were publicly released Wednesday. But state office officials assured board members they don't have to make a final decision until August.

And several state officials and board members who had read the new standards called them a good step forward.

"This is the greatest thing I've seen hit education, and I've been in education for 30 years," said Dixie Allen, board vice chairwoman.

Hales said the board's preliminary approval of the standards now could help the state win federal Race to the Top money for school reform. States on-board with the common standards will earn more points in the competition for the money, she said.

Hales said Race to the Top money would allow the state to implement the new standards within five years, which will entail rewriting curricula and training teachers, among other things. If Utah does not win the money, the state likely would still implement the new standards, but would take more years to do that, Hales said. Utah is hoping to win up to $175 million in Race to the Top money in the second round of the competition.