COMMON GROUND ON THE COMMON CORE:

The two top members of the Senate's education committee on Tuesday detailed their plans for overhauling the long-outdated education law No Child Left Behind.

During a speech on the Senate floor Tuesday afternoon, Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., who chairs the education committee, said the law has become "unworkable." He said he plans to meet "virtually every day" this week and next with other members of the committee and staffers to hash out points of agreement and disagreement, with a discussion spurred by his working draft of the legislation.

"The plan I'm suggesting here is to set realistic goals, keep the best portions of No Child Left Behind and restore to states and communities the responsibility to decide whether schools and teachers are succeeding or failing," Alexander said. [...]

"All of this boils down to: What is the federal government going to require from states in exchange for tens of billions of dollars each year?" says Andy Smarick, a partner at Bellwether Education Partners. "How can states show Uncle Sam that these funds are being well spent and that all kids are learning more?"

Alexander's draft proposal puts forth two options for a reauthorization bill: one that essentially maintains current law in terms of testing, and one that gives states and school districts a significant amount of leeway in choosing when and how to test their students.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan on Monday delivered a speech on the 50th anniversary of the signing of the law, formally known as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, hearkening back to its roots of promoting equity in schools. He said he would like to see more support and funding for high-quality preschool, increased spending for K-12 resources and a scaling back of redundant state and local tests in an updated law.Duncan also made it clear that he would not be supportive of a reauthorization bill that removes a requirement for annual testing, although he signaled an area for compromise could come around the types of assessments states and school districts use.

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