Kentucky moving forward on college ready standards

Art Jester has great Business Lexington reporting up on tomorrow's big meeting to commit Kentucky to the common core standards for college and career readiness--and on why that step is so important. To lure you into reading the whole thing, here are just a few snippets:

"We will be the first state in the nation to signal our leadership in education reform," said Kentucky Education Commissioner Terry Holliday.

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As Rep. Carl Rollins (D-Midway) put it, the common standards will enable "everyone coming together on the same page" nationwide to determine what students should learn at each grade level.

Rollins, the chairman of the state House Education Committee, said the common standards are "real improvements" that should lead to the development of "new national tests with national standards."

"We're going in the right direction," said Rollins, a state financial aid official and a former Midway mayor who has a doctorate in education.

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"It's very exciting that Kentucky is a leader moving in this direction," said Fayette County Schools Superintendent Stu Silberman. "The narrowing and deepening of the standards is something I think is going to be good for our kids and teachers because it's going to allow us to spend more in-depth time on the core content. It feels good that Kentucky is on the forefront as a national leader again."