As students here in Wisconsin and across the country head back to school this semester, many will be greeted with a wide variety of changes not only in school curriculum but also in fundamental teaching strategies.

The public education revamps proposed by President Barack Obama’s administration include some of the most significant changes in curriculum and teacher evaluation in decades. They also outline the implementation of new, more rigorous standardized exams.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Wisconsin is among the 45 states (along with the District of Columbia) that have adopted the Common Core math and language arts standards, which lay out what students should know at each grade level.  Another 40 states, also including Wisconsin, have agreed to link teacher evaluations to test scores and other student achievement measures.

The acceptance and implementation of these education reforms is a testament to Wisconsin’s commitment to excellence in academics.  While some states including Alabama, Texas, North Carolina and Nebraska continue to resist these changes, Wisconsin residents – especially those residing in the university area – can pride themselves on their commitment to the enrichment of minds and imaginations.

By the end of 2013, the federal government will have spent almost $1 trillion on national defense, as compared to $100 billion on education.

That is to say that the federal government can reconcile spending 23 percent of its total budget on national defense and only 3 percent on education, during a time when American students are falling behind international students at one of the fastest rates in history.  A test called the Program for International Student Assessment has shown a drastic decrease in student subject literacy in the United States.  U.S. students now rank 23rd in science, 17th in reading and writing, and 31st in mathematics among international students.  Shanghai, Finland, Hong Kong and Singapore are among the top performers.

Wisconsin has taken a progressive and proactive step in the right direction with the acceptance of these new education standards, showing a will to produce students and teachers alike who can aid the U.S. in its mission to tackle educational underachievement.  Psychologist Kay Redfield Jamison said, “I believe that curiosity, wonder and passion are defining qualities of imaginative minds and great teachers; that restlessness and discontent are vital things; and that intense experience and suffering instruct us in ways that less intense emotions can never do.”  Indeed, the people of Wisconsin are not content with what has been accepted as the educational norm.

This year, the University of Wisconsin was ranked 19th by the Shanghai Academic Ranking of World Universities, a testament to the central idea of community leadership and academic progress continuously propagated throughout the city of Madison.  By allocating educational and financial resources strategically, eliminating social background as a hindrance to academic opportunity and igniting a newfound passion for teaching and learning in this state, Wisconsin leads the way to higher student retention and, ultimately, a return to legitimate competition within the global marketplace.

Grant Hattenhauer ([email protected]) is a freshman majoring in biology.