1、This is the VOA Special English Education Report.这里是美国之音慢速英语教育报道。More than forty of the fifty American states have approved what are known as the common core state standards. These are lists of content that students are supposed to learn at each grade level from kindergarten to high school.美国50个州里超过
2、40个州已经通过了所谓的共同核心州立标准。这是一份学生从幼儿园到高中应该学习的内容列表。State governors and schools chiefs led the effort to develop the standards. The project involved teachers, administrators, experts and public comments. The final standards were released last June.州长和学校主管领导了这一标准的开发。这一项目涵盖了教师、管理人员、专家和公众的意见。最终标准于去年6月公布。Accept
3、ance is voluntary. But acceptance helped states that entered President Obamas four-billion-dollar Race to the Top competition for school reform.是否接受这一标准是自愿的。但接受该标准能够帮助该州获得加入奥巴马40亿美元学校改革的“争上游”竞赛的资格。The standards are for English language arts and math. More subjects may come later.该标准针对英语语言艺术和数学，更多科目的
4、标准将随之而来。Supporters say the standards provide clear goals to prepare students to succeed in college and in jobs. But critics of national standards say the idea goes against one of Americas oldest traditions - local control of education.支持者称，该标准为培养学生成功进入大学和社会提供了明确的目标。但批评者表示，这一理念违背了美国最古老的一项传统-各州自主控制教育。
5、Political conservatives generally oppose federal intervention in schools. Yet it was a Republican president, George W. Bush, who expanded testing requirements to show that public schools are making yearly progress.政治保守派普遍反对联邦对学校的干预。然而正是共和党总统乔治布什扩大了表明公立学校每年都在进步的考核要求。Still, opponents of national stand
6、ards call them one-size-fits-all. They say the idea does not make sense for a country as large and diverse as the United States.尽管如此，国家教育标准的反对者称其为“一刀切。”他们说，这一理念并不适合美国这一类庞大复杂的国家。One of those opponents is Bill Evers at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University in California. He was an assistant ed
7、ucation secretary under President Bush.加州斯坦福大学胡佛研究所的比尔埃弗斯（Bill Evers）是其中的反对者之一。他是布什总统时期的教育部副部长。BILL EVERS: We are having Washington, DC, having control and final say over, and supervision over and direction over, what is happening in the classrooms of America, in the public schools. Most changes, mo
8、st positive influences have bubbled up from below.埃弗斯：“我们有华盛顿特区，它具有控制和最终决定权，以及监督权和管理权。美国公立学校的教室正在发生什么？大部分的变化和积极影响都是从底层产生的。”So its closing the door on innovation by locking in a national, uniform bureaucratic system. But the states dont have a problem in setting their curriculum - theyve been doing i
9、t ever since thereve been public schools.“这一全国性的统一的官僚系统关闭了创新的大门。但各州在设置他们的必修课程上并不存在问题-即使公立学校也一直是这么做的。”Richard Reilly was education secretary to President Bill Clinton, a Democrat. Mr. Reilly says the federal government is not forcing the common core standards on states.理查德莱利（Richard Reilly）是克林顿总统时期的教
10、育部长，他是民主党人。莱利表示，联邦政府并没有在各州强制推行共同核心州立标准。RICHARD REILLY: Conservatives would be concerned if we had federal-mandated common core standards. Thats not what we have. Its a state-driven measure. High standards, challenging work for young people across the country. To be challenged to do and be the same,
11、and not one way in Texas and another way in South Carolina.莱利：“保守派可能会担心我们是否会有联邦强制性共同核心标准，但事实并非如此。这是一项各州主导的措施。是针对全美国所有年轻人的高标准和高挑战性工作。同样的标准同样的挑战，而不是田纳西州一种方式，南卡罗来纳州另一种方式。”Mr. Reilly says when he served in the nineteen nineties, he pushed states to develop their own statewide standards. But some of thos
12、e standards were not very strong, he says, so he believes national standards are needed. 莱利先生表示，当20世纪90年代他在职时，他推动了各州开发自己的州立标准。但有些标准不是非常有优势，因此他认为全国标准是必要的。But Bill Evers says technology now makes it easier to develop individual learning plans to meet the different needs of students.但埃弗斯表示，如今的科技水平使得制定个
13、人学习计划来满足不同学生的需求更为容易。BILL EVERS: If we put a bureaucratic hand on this, we will stifle the capacity for modern technology to give us a better shot at the students learning the material.埃弗斯：“如果我们在这件事上伸出官僚之手，我们将会扼杀现代科技可能在学生学习上发挥更好的能力。”He says schools should worry less about a common curriculum and more about improving teacher quality.他表示，学校应该少关注共同课程，多关注提供教师质量。
