What happens when you have a law that’s supposed to improve performance among the nation’s school children but instead it creates confusion, lowers expectations and can result in a “dummying down” of state standards?

That’s what a panel of educational experts is trying to address with a plan to incorporate common academic standards. They are urging Congress to support a state-led initiative to develop more-uniform, clear and integrated standards that reflect both the global marketplace and Americans’ mobility within the country.

Under the 2002 No Child Left Behind law (PL 107-110), states set their own standards — resulting in what Education Secretary Arne Duncan calls a “dummying down” of state standards in order to meet benchmarks set by the law.

Those who advocate for common standards contend that a system of variable expectations — ones that are often too low — leads American students to underperform when compared with their peers in Finland or China. President Obama called for common standards in a March 10 speech, and Duncan has said he would use a portion of a $5 billion “Race to the Top” fund under his discretion to reward states working toward that goal.

The panel — which included Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers; former North Carolina Gov. James B. Hunt Jr.; and Dave Levin, founder of the KIPP charter schools — testified April 29 at a House Education and Labor Committee hearing.

Committee Chairman George Miller , D-Calif., said at the hearing that developing internationally benchmarked standards would help fulfill the goals of the No Child law.

“The goal ... is to make sure every child receives an excellent public education based on high standards,” he said. “While some states have done a good job insisting on higher standards, others have set the bar far too low.”

Weingarten said she recently wrote to Duncan seeking financial support for a system focusing on fewer, clearer and better-coordinated standards crafted with input from teachers.

“All too often, teachers end up making it up as you go along because of a lack of common standards,” she said.

After the standards are developed, Hunt told the panel, Congress should financially support the design of assessments tied to those standards that “go beyond” multiple-choice and paper tests.

Working on Voluntary Standards

Earlier this month, the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers led a discussion with representatives from 41 states to begin developing voluntary common standards.

The ranking member on the Education and Labor panel, California Republican Howard P. “Buck” McKeon , praised the states’ efforts. “I think we are right to begin by examining an issue where leadership need not — and currently does not — come from the federal government,” he said.