It's been a long-held tradition in American public education that decisions about standards and curriculum are best left to state and local school systems, not the federal government. But that soon could change, amid mounting evidence that American students are falling behind their peers in other countries.

Leading education groups and government officials agreed at a congressional hearing April 29 that adopting common academic standards across all states might be the way to give U.S. students an advantage in an increasingly competitive and international marketplace.

During the hearing, Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, said support is building for the creation of common standards, which he said would help the United States close achievement gaps not only among U.S. schools, but also between the U.S. and other high-achieving countries.

"We all know the statistics--we've fallen to 21st in math achievement, 25th in science, and 24th in problem solving," Miller said. "We used to be No. 1 in college completion. Now we are 18th."

Miller said the $5 billion Race to the Top Fund included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will "lay the foundation" for the changes necessary to move toward common academic standards.

The federal government's role in developing a common set of standards has yet to be determined.

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), was among the many supporters of common standards to testify at the hearing. Others included the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO).

Weingarten said states "should adopt rigorous, common academic standards so that students can be better prepared to compete in the global economy."

The AFT has long supported common academic standards, and Weingarten said a key problem with typical state standards is that they're often not comprehensive enough to form a complete education.

Many states already have joined the American Diploma Project Network, a program that works to align state standards with college and work expectations, said Ken James, CCSSO president and commissioner of education for the Arkansas Department of Education. 

James said CCSSO and NGA began working with some states two years ago to develop a voluntary, state-led common standards initiative.

"The purpose of the common state standards initiative is to raise the bar for all states by drawing on the best research and evidence," James said. "The most basic way to impact student achievement ... is to guarantee that what is being taught in classrooms in every ZIP code of this nation is both rigorous and relevant."

He added: "States are [no longer] preparing our students to compete with students in the neighboring school district or even the neighboring state. We are preparing them to compete globally and, in order to do so, we must make sure that we equip students across this nation with the learning blocks to reach the same high standards."