Is the movement to a “common core” of standards good or bad?

The U.S. Department of Education recently finished up a “listening tour” in a few key cities across the country, gathering public input on changes in assessment and accountability programs as part of the emerging Race To The Top (RttT) initiative. The federal government will release a block of grants to states (or consortia of states) in March 2010 focused on assessment related to RttT. While a lot of the details are still being pulled together, it is clear that the federal government will award the assessment grants to states that align their programs around the Common Core State Standards Initiative.

Educators have been focused on student achievement of individual state (and sometimes also local) standards for years now. The idea of an emerging set of “meta” standards that all states align to is an intriguing one.

So, our good friends of the Blog-o-sphere, it makes us wonder what all of you think about this concept. Are the Common Core standards the next natural progression in a standards-based alignment of education? Or, is this some sinister move toward a nationally-mandated curriculum? Is is something else entirely? As always, we love to read your thoughts…