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This move to participate in the national standards [officially known as the “Common Core”] was part of a national trend.  So far, 48 states have adopted all or part of these national standards.  The reason?  The Obama administration’s “Race to the Top” program. “They put some big carrots out there for states,” Latham said, referring to the administration’s $4 billion competition. One of the ways states score points in the competition is doing exactly as Iowa did: adopt both state and national standards.  So far, 11 states and the District of Columbia have won funding in two rounds of competition. Iowa has not even been a finalist, and thus the state has not seen the tens of millions of dollars in aid that other states have won.  However, four Iowa schools with high poverty and low achievement rates did receive grants from the Race to the Top legislation.  Being committed to adopting state and national standards was key for those schools to receive the grants, Latham said.

Starting in 2012, Iowa’s schools will have to follow state standards in certain subjects and national standards in others.

States score a significant portion of Race to the Top points by opening up charter schools and pegging teacher pay to student performance—two features that are common in New York and D.C., but are virtually nonexistent in Iowa.