School Choice Better Than National Standards In Improving Educational Outcomes

From The Wall Street Journal, "Rethinking National Standards" by Jason L Riley:

The Obama administration says national standards are needed because some state standards are too low. But that argument assumes that high state standards produce superior academic outcomes. In a 2012 study, the Brookings Institution's Tom Loveless compared state standards and standardized test scores in those states. "The finding is clear," wrote Mr. Loveless. "The quality of standards has not mattered. From 2003 to 2009, states with terrific standards raised their National Assessment of Educational Progress scores by roughly the same margin as states with awful ones."

The reality is that other education reforms, such as school choice, have a much better track record of improving student achievement. The Obama administration would have us spend billions of dollars implementing a top-down, one-size-fits-all curriculum for the nation. That money would be much better spent replicating successful charter school models like KIPP Academy, or voucher programs in places like Milwaukee and Washington, D.C.