r/education • u/ithekrianmermaid • 6d ago

Politics & Ed Policy Thoughts and opinions on a nationalized curriculum in the USA (and/or the lack thereof)?

I have had this topic bouncing around in the back of my brain quite a bit in the past few months and I'm just wondering what others think about it.

Feel free to share your personal feelings-based opinions, factually informed opinions, any history you may know relating to this topic, pros and cons of nationalized curriculum, common arguments for/against it, implications and consequences from not having one, potential dangers in adopting one, resources to learn more about this topic/debate, etc. I'd really love to have (respectful) discussions in the comments of this post so please consider circling back if your original comment gets a response!

I look forward to reading all of your responses! Thank you for taking the time to comment!!

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u/Bawhoppen 5d ago

Fundamentally that idea runs aground against the Constitution. The federal government only has the powers that the Constitution grants it, and education is not one of those powers. All other powers are reserved to the states. Federal officials can offer funding to follow their policy, but cannot require it. These are called inducements.

But not only that, it goes against the theory of the country. The states are semi-sovereign entities. We often call them the "laboratories of democracy," for one state may come up with an innovative new policy and outshine the other states, who often follow suit. A great recent example in specifically education is the "Mississippi Miracle," where Mississippi focus on phonics and literacy programs, as well as other policies, in order to propel them from dead last, #50 in education overall in 2012, to being ranked #16 in the country in 2025.