Statement by Randi Weingarten, President, American Federation of Teachers,
On Achieve’s Report on State Standards

Achieve today released “Out of Many, One: Toward Rigorous Common Core Standards from the Ground Up,” a report finding that states have made progress toward establishing standards to prepare students for college and careers.

WASHINGON, D.C. – Today’s report from Achieve is welcome news to the AFT, which has long advocated high standards and called on states to work together to develop common standards. Setting high expectations in state educational standards is an essential first step in improving America’s schools. 

Standards, however, are only a beginning. If America’s children are to attain these higher standards, focusing on the classroom is the essential next step. To reach high standards, there must be a high-quality curriculum, solid professional development, and fair, objective assessments. We also need to recognize that focusing solely on testing will not lead to better schools. Most important, teachers, who, after all, have the day-to-day responsibility of instructing our students, must be involved in creating and delivering the high-quality curricula, assessments and professional development they need to help students meet these new high standards.

We will see comprehensive reform only when our nation’s schools take a comprehensive look at standards, curriculum, instruction, assessment and the best practices to implement and replicate at the school level. We commend Achieve for bringing states together to develop standards and encourage states to develop common curricula, professional development programs and assessments as well.

For the AFT’s most recent study on state standards, see http://www.aft.org/standards2008.

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