One of the arguments behind having centralized national standards, such as the Common Core State Standards or Next Generation Science Standards, is the argument that kids who move from say Washington State should have the same standards if they move to Iowa. Since our culture has become more mobile it seems like a compelling argument. Just how many kids are we talking about here?
According to the 2011 American Community Survey which has the latest numbers we could find – 1.7% of 5 to 17 year-olds moved from state to state.
The simple fact is more people move within the same county or same state than move across state lines. Do we really want to determine educational policy for 46 states due to 1.7% of 5-17 year-olds who experience a move? This also assumes that every school and kid is the same and that you can place a kid in a completely different environment and they will do exactly the same academically. Also, as Common Core advocates will say, each school’s curriculum is different. Don’t you think having a different teacher, different curriculum, being in a new class who may have a different pace of learning and a completely new environment impact that students learning more than having different state standards?