Is the latest move to cut  NAEP, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a key measure of U.S. student achievement just a little bit of out with the old and in with the new?  I don’t think so. This move is follows a consistent pattern articulated in the Obama vision of elevating education to global achievement standards.  Can you say Common Core? Our new math and English Language Arts standards aligned to global academic outcomes.

EdWeek reports that the $6 million NAEP cut will be replaced with a pilot program for states to benchmark the performance of our American 15-year-olds against the PISA, the Program for International Student Assessment.  The PISA compares students around the world on what is considered a more rigorous assessment than our NAEP or our current swath of state assessments.

States interested in being part of the pilot will need to “invest” some of their own funds to participate.  Just $600,000 will get a state a seat at the table.  I wonder if the Colorado legislature will sign up…