Login | Register | Subscribe 
Sign Up for FREE E-Newsletters Current Issue Topics
Assessment and TestingBudget and FinanceBullyingCharter SchoolsCommon StandardsCurriculum and InstructionE-Learning English-Language LearnersFederal PolicyHigh SchoolsLaw and CourtsLeadership and ManagementNo Child Left BehindProfessional Development Race to the TopResearchSpecial EducationState News by StateTeaching ProfessionTechnologyUnionsSee All TopicsBlogs Reports & Data Leaders to Learn FromQuality CountsDiplomas CountTechnology CountsSpecial Reporting SeriesState Highlights Reports EdCounts DatabaseEdWeek MapsEPE Research CenterERS Practical Tools for District TransformationEvents PD WebinarsWebinarsChatsLeaders to Learn FromLive EventsLive Events VideosCalendarDiscussions ForumsChatsTeacher Book ClubWebinarsOpinion Multimedia VideosInfographicsPhoto GalleriesAudio Galleries 
Education Week's blogs > State EdWatchSee our States news coverage 
Andrew UjifusaAndrew Ujifusa covers state education policy for Education Week, from new legislation and trends to eye-catching political battles. He previously worked at newspapers in Maryland and Mississippi, and taught high school English in Japan. 3750237502 « N.Y. Regents: Common Core Needs More State Aid, Periodic Adjustments |Main| Chris Cerf Departing as N.J. Chief to Take Job at Amplify »When Has Federal Money Been Used to Create State Standards? By Andrew Ujifusa on February 11, 2014 11:23 AM Tweet
UPDATED
As part of the effort by business groups and other friends of the Common Core State Standards to buttress support for them this year, a new website from the Higher State Standards Partnership aims to counter myths about the standards with facts. As part of this effort, the site, which is supported by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Business Roundtable, addresses one prominent claim about the standards: that the federal government created them and manages them in the states. Here's how the site responds to that claim:
No one has presented any credible evidence that the common core was federally funded. Just because the feds support an initiative like common core doesn't mean they paid for it. However, the second sentence in that mythbusting "fact" is what caught my attention, and so I highlighted it. That statement covers education policy territory well before common core and even No Child Left Behind. Let's examine it.
I asked the U.S. Chamber for the evidence supporting the statement. The Chamber sent me testimony from Michael Cohen, a former assistant secretary at the U.S. department and now the president of Achieve, a nonprofit that helped to develop the common core, to the Michigan House of Representatives last July. Cohen provides a lot of interesting history about state standards—on the subject of this particular inquiry, he pointed to the initiative by then-Secretary of Education Lamar Alexandar (now a Republican U.S. senator) in 1990 to provide $40 million to "nearly every state" to help underwrite the development of content standards. The 1994 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Cohen notes, required states to have content standards as a condition for receiving Title I funds. NCLB, remember, also requires states to have standards in order to receive federal cash.
The administration of President George H.W. Bush also provided financial support for national organizations to develop content standards in various subjects. And the Goals 2000 program under the Bill Clinton administration also included standards creation as a key element.
Here's how the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation's Education and Workforce program summarized the statement to me:
@StateEdWatch They were either through direct grants to develop standards or states received fed funds as condition of developing standards
— USCCF Ed & Workforce (@USCCFeducation) February 7, 2014
Based on that statement, it seems as though the claim rests (in part) on the idea that if standards are a requirement for states to receive money from Washington like Title I dollars, that means it's fair to say the standards are federally funded. But is that logically consistent? That description makes the standards sound more like an unfunded mandate from Washington, rather than a federally funded initiative. The U.S. Chamber isn't claiming that funds as dictated by NCLB directly funded standards, only that without standards, states couldn't get funds like Title I.
I called up a state that hasn't adopted the common core, Virginia, to ask if its content standards, called the Standards of Learning, have been federally funded. Julie Grimes, the patient spokeswoman for the state education department, subsequently provided a very detailed answer.
Federal Title II dollars are intended to support the recruitment and development of high-quality teachers and principals. Grimes highlighted Title II Section A money that in Virginia has been used to help teachers review the Standards of Learning. That review helps the teachers prepare to use the standards in the classroom, since, Grimes pointed out, the state doesn't want to "just spring" new standards on educators. But It doesn't give those teachers input or power as the standards are being created.
"That is not the same as developing the standards," Grimes wrote to me in an email about the Title II Section A cash.
The Virginia Department of Education develops the Standards of Learning, Grimes said, using state and not federal money.
As I said at the beginning of the post, the federal role in common core's progress will get a lot of hackles up. It's interesting that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Business Roundtable felt the need not just to rebut claims about Washington and the common core, an understandable move backed up by the facts, but to make a broader statement about content standards that, if you talk to Virginia at least, is inaccurate.
UPDATE: On the point of NCLB funding for standards, I should point out that Title VI under federal education law does provide money to help states develop "additional standards" to meet federal requirements if necessary. (Thanks to Chad Colby at Achieve for pointing this out.) If a state's standards already meet those requirements, however, it can use this money for tests or other matters. So to call state standards strictly an unfunded mandate under NCLB is off the mark.
The question of how many states didn't use that earmarked Title VI money to develop standards, at the same time that they were reviewing and updating standards, isn't one I'll try to answer here. The Virginia Department of Education's response is clear. Still, given the history of the federal government's involvement, it's clear that Washington has long had a direct interest in content standards, and has in fact put some money on the table to ease them along in the last 25 years. ?
Categories:Standards State PolicyTags:Achieve common core NCLB standards Title I Title II VirginiaPrint
Email 
TweetYou must be logged in to leave a comment. Login | Register Ground Rules for Posting We encourage lively debate, but please be respectful of others. Profanity and personal attacks are prohibited. By commenting, you are agreeing to abide by our user agreement.
All comments are public.
Get 10 free stories, e-newsletters, and more!EmailPassword
Select your primary connection to education District Superintendent, Deputy/Asst. Superintendent District Leadership - Technology District Leadership - Curriculum, Instruction, Assessment, PD District Leadership - Business, Communications, HR District Personnel - Other (Admin., Specialist, etc.) School-based Leadership (Principal, Asst. Principal) Teacher - Early Childhood/Elementary Teacher - Middle School Teacher - High School School-based Technology Coordinator School-based Personnel - Other (Admin., Specialist, etc.) Library Personnel/Media Specialist University or College Faculty/Administration Federal Government Personnel State Government Personnel Education Product/Service Provider (including Consultants) Investment Community Association/Advocacy Organization Philanthropy Education Research/Analysis Media Education Services Agency School Board Member Student Parent/Community Member
Send me Edweek Update e-newsletter (Daily)By clicking "Register" you are agreeing to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Follow This Blog
Follow This Blog Recent Entries N.Y. Lawsuit Seeks More School Funding for 'Sound Basic Education' Chris Cerf Departing as N.J. Chief to Take Job at Amplify When Has Federal Money Been Used to Create State Standards? N.Y. Regents: Common Core Needs More State Aid, Periodic Adjustments Common Core and Medicaid Expansion: Comparing Big Decisions by States Advertisement Most Viewed on Education Week Categories--- Select a Category ---Academic Achievement (80)Arne Duncan (38)Budgets (130)Charters (52)Elections (111)Foundations (8)Governors (473)Lawsuits (62)Legislatures (340)Misconduct (23)Race to the Top (88)School Choice (62)School Finance (138)Standards (126)State Boards (98)State Policy (460)State superintendents (216)Stimulus (24)Taxes (39)Teachers unions (118)Title One (3)Turnarounds (29) Archives Select a Month... February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 Recent Comments Director of Academics, Chicago Director of Academics, Chicago, IL TEACHER RECRUITMENT Mott Haven Academy Charter School, Bronx, NY Principal, Niwot High School St. Vrain Valley School District, CO Principal - Landrum Middle School: District-Charter Collaboration SKY Partnership - School Year 2014 Spring Branch ISD, Houston, TX 77024, TX Upper School (6th-12th grade) General Studies Principal Robert M. Beren Academy, Houston, TX Chief Business & Operations Officer La Canada Unified School District, La Canada, CA MORE EDUCATION JOBS >> Post a Job >> Powered by Movable Type Pro Account Management •Register or Subscribe •Online Account •Print Subscription •Manage E-Newsletters/Preferences •Site Licenses Contact Us •Help/FAQ •Customer Service •Editor Feedback •Letters
to the Editor Policies •User Agreement •Privacy •Reprints Advertise with Us •Display Advertising •Recruitment
Advertising EPE Info •About Us •Staff •Work@EPE •Mission and History Education Week Publications •Education Week •Teacher •Digital Directions •Industry & Innovation •PD Directory •TopSchoolJobs
© 2014 Editorial Projects in Education
6935 Arlington Road, Bethesda MD 20814 1-800-346-1834 (Main Office) 1-800-445-8250 (Customer Service)
[MESSAGE]UserID:
iCustID:
IsLogged: false
IsSiteLicense: false
UserType: anonymous
DisplayName:
TrialsLeft: 3
Trials:
Tier Preview Log:
Exception pages ( /edweek/state_edwatch/2014/02/when_has_federal_money_been_used_to_create_state_standards.html ) = NO
Internal request ( 39.55.57.158 ) = NO
Open House ( 2014-03-04 12:17:51 ) = NO
Site Licence : ( 39.55.57.158 ) = NO
ACL Free A vs U ( 2100 vs 0 ) = NO
Token Free (NO TOKEN FOUND) = NO
Blog authoring preview = NO
Search Robot ( unknown ) = NO
Purchased ( 0 ) = NO
Monthly ( : 0 / 3 ) = NO
Can add to monthly ( /edweek/state_edwatch/2014/02/when_has_federal_money_been_used_to_create_state_standards.html ) = YES
Add to monthly ( ) = NO
Access granted ( 7 ) = YES
