Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/15/AR2009021501257.html Author: Randi Weingarten, President of the AFT "The countries that consistently outperform the United States on international assessments all have national standards, with core curriculum, assessments and time for professional development for teachers based on those standards... But there is little outrage over the uneven patchwork of academic standards for students in our 50 states ...