The voluntary national standards will describe what all students should know and be able to do at certain grade levels. The standards will encourage students to use their minds well, to solve problems, to think, and to reason.
Mathematics standards are already in use in many classrooms. Standards in the arts were recently released and national standards in science, history, civics and government, geography, economics, and foreign languages are now being developed by teachers and scholars. The input of state and local leaders, parents, and citizens is also being sought.
The voluntary national standards are meant to be a resource to be used by parents, teachers, and all citizens as one guide to high standards. They can be used by schools, districts, and states to guide and revise curricula, assessments, teacher preparation, and instruction. All of the elements should be aligned so that everyone and everything involved in education work together to help students learn more.
National standards do not have to be in place before states and communities can begin to develop their own standards. Indeed, some states have already introduced high standards into their classrooms. States and communities can develop their own standards or modify and adopt those developed under national consensus.
Under the GOALS 2000: EDUCATE AMERICA ACT, the Clinton Administration's landmark school reform bill, federal funds will flow to states and communities to help them develop their own rigorous standards and implement their own programs of school reform to help their students achieve the higher standards.
National standards will provide a focus, not a national curriculum; a national consensus, not federal mandates; voluntary adoption, not mandatory use; and dynamic, not static, applications.