Instead of developing national, college-prep standards for high-school students, maybe we should be fostering some diversity in what students gets out of their time in school.
The surprising advocate of this idea? Chester E. Finn Jr., whose Thomas B. Fordham Institute has been an advocate of strong academic standards. In this commentary, Finn worries that the Common Core movement might lead to more students dropping out. Instead of “college for everyone,” perhaps schools ought to offer some meaningful work preparation for those who want it. You can read his essay here.
All good stuff, but I’m skeptical of whether today’s public school systems can, absent a full-throated regime of school choice, offer such a customization properly.