T1 Should Support College/Career Goal

National Journal asks whether, as the president suggested, that Title 1 should be contingent upon state adoption of college/career ready standards.  I think the answer is yes.
Title 1 is an effort to promote equitable educational outcomes. The most important equity goal is that every student should graduate prepared to continue his/her education–at least the ability to walk in to a community or technical college and start earning credit. The addition of the college/career ready goal to the entitlement program makes sense.
The administration has also proposed shifting more funds to competitive grants. The initial success of Race to the Top indicates that this is worth pursuing. The president’s budget proposed streamlining programs. There are several billion dollars of well-intentioned programs that don’t produce intended benefits or simply add more bureaucracy than needed. Links to goals, competitions, and fewer programs are all reasonable steps to incorporate into ESEA reauthorization.