Missouri lawmakers working to roll back some state education standards

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Intro:	Some lawmakers in the state capitol are pushing to strike down a set of state education standards--- and some are worried that could jeopardize students preparing for college.
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Wrap: Three years ago the Department of Secondary and Elementary Education adopted the nationwide standards, called Common Core.

But some Republican lawmakers say they should have talked to the legislature before doing it.

And now members of the Missouri House and Senate are moving towards taking those standards out of the state's classrooms.

But Education Commissioner Chris Nicastro says that would prevent students from performing well on tests like the GED and the ACT.

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Description: "Any assessment that you can think of is now, or will be soon, aligned with the Common Core."

Supporters of the measure say that the standards don't achieve their goal of making the country's education system more globally competitive.

Reporting from the state capitol, I'm Alex Mallin.

Intro:	Lawmakers in the state capitol are pushing to repeal education standards for kids in Missouri's public schools. They say the standards set the bar too low for high schoolers to succeed in college.
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Wrap: The Department of Secondary and Elementary Education adopted the nationwide standards three year ago, but lawmakers are saying they should've checked with the legislature first.

Bill Evers is a research fellow who flew all the way from California to criticize the standards. He says they don't do enough to prepare students for tests like the GED and the ACT.

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Description: "So this is academic child abuse because its going to ruin the life chances, the business prospects, the employment prospects of Missouri's children in the worldwide economy."

Defenders of the standards say they're better than what the state used to have. And they say it could cost Missouri a lot of money to switch back now.

Reporting from the state capitol, I'm Alex Mallin.

Intro:	Several state lawmakers in the state capitol say they want to strike down state education standards that they say sets the bar too low for Missouri students.
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Description: "They have never been tested anywhere in any state or city this has never been piloted in any district these are being just dropped from the sky... This is going to be a train wreck."

That's Bill Evers, a research fellow from Stanford University's Hoover Institute. The "train wreck" hes talking about are national standards that state education officials put in place three years ago.

Lawmakers are now trying to undo that decision because they say those standards aren't rigorous enough.

Evers says lawmakers trying to remove the standards are following the lead of four other states.

Opponents say removing the standards could be costly not only for the state but for Missouri students preparing for the GED or the ACT.

Reporting from the state capitol, I'm Alex Mallin.