Monday's School Board meeting is especially delay Portage. But there is a brief mention of most of the improvements that occurred under the radar and could not have a major impact on United States schools.
Reform is the fact that Michigan and 43 other States have adopted a "common core" standards, the essence, the first National Curriculum in the country.
For the first time, there will be an agreement between countries about what children should learn in each grade, and there will be an assessment test will allow–at least in theory–apples-to-apples comparison.
Now, each country has its own curriculum and assessment tests. It makes it very, very difficult for States to compare their academic results. Decentralized education also creates complications for the book industry, teacher training and for the millions of school children who move from one country to another every year.
Lynne Cowart, who is now serving as Director of curriculum for public schools, said Monday that the Portage district currently is conducting an audit to see how the district will need to be changed to conform to the common-core standards.