Washington on Texas (sort of), part 2

For those who watch the fight for science standards go on state by state, as recently happened in Texas, or in some cases school board by school board, and wondering why the American federal government lets this happen, I offer this snippet from Arne Duncan, the new U.S. secretary of education, from this week’s Science magazine.

Q: You’ve said we’re lying to kids by having these different, low standards. And you’ve also said you want to do what works. If we know what works, why don't we just mandate it?

A.D.: You could, although I think that would ultimately fail... because there would be such a backlash. The goal here is to get it done and not create a lot of drama. ... And having it come from the states, and from the community, rather than top-down, is much more powerful.

Still hope, but no change.