This school year, you will hear much about Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Basically, it is a set of national standards aimed at making students college and work place ready as well as preparing them to be competitive on the world market. This system began in the 1990s with the National Governors Association, and 45 states adopted the CCSS in order to receive federal money in the Race to the Top program.

How did we get to this point? Let's take a short walk down memory lane.

In 1900 the US high school graduation rate was around 7 percent. The elite could afford this luxury. Rest of America went to work before or after eighth grade graduation, some by age 6 or 7. Around 1950, the rate passed 60 percent. After World War II, a high school diploma propelled many to the middle class. Today, the national average hovers around 76 percent, with our state's graduation rate around 81 percent. Steady progress, to be sure.

However, on Oct. 6, 1957, many Americans started believing that the American education system was failing because the Russians "beat" us to space with Sputnik. Gerald Bracey points out, though, that history differs from perception.

President Eisenhower chose not to put a satellite in space in September of 1956. He wanted a precedent to establish the concept of outer space as open space belonging to all nations. Sputnik provided that opportunity for a new frontier. Had America launched a satellite in 1956, many in the world would have seen that as a threat to peace. So, Ike made a military-political decision and waited for Russia to act first.

President Eisenhower was, as Bracey noted, "utterly perplexed that the success of Sputnik was seen to reflect a failed public school system."

Duane Pitts is a retired English teacher now living in Moses Lake. He taught English for 42 years - eight years in Valdosta, Ga; two years in Colfax; and 32 years in Odessa. As a retiree, he serving as a facilitator by helping teachers and principals learn about the new state teacher-principal evaluation project.