The Washington Post has published an extensive story tracing the role of Bill Gates in the Common Core state standards for school student achievement; it’s online here, under the headline, “How Bill Gates pulled off the swift Common Core revolution.” The article, which calls the standards “one of the swiftest and most remarkable shifts in education policy in U.S. history,” quotes Gates saying, “At the end of the day, I don’t think wanting education to be better is a right-wing or left-wing thing.”

Though the standards have recently drawn opposition from tea party groups, the article notes they initially had wide support from across the political spectrum. “The math standards require students to learn multiple ways to solve problems and explain how they got their answers, while the English standards emphasize nonfiction and expect students to use evidence to back up oral and written arguments,” the Post reports. “The standards are not a curriculum but skills that students should acquire at each grade. How they are taught and materials used are decisions left to states and school districts.” Betsy Russell, EOB

Interesting quote from Gates. Should making education better be a partisan thing?

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