In the United States, education is primarily under the purview of the states. Although the federal government has taken a larger role since the creation of the Department of Education in 1979 and the passage of laws like No Child Left Behind in 2002, education pedagogy generally remains under the sole discretion of state entities.
In the education circle, there have been calls for a national curriculum for decades. In 2009, the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) were introduced to “provide clear, consistent learning goals designed to prepare students for success in college, careers, and life.”
Since the launch of Common Core, 41 states have adopted the CCSS, which only applies to mathematics and English Language Arts. Sadly, national test scores in mathematics and reading have declined precipitously in recent years. According to the Nation’s Report Card, in 2024, only 28 percent of eighth graders performed proficient in math.
I am not solely blaming the steep decline in math scores on Common Core, but I can say that when I was a public-school teacher less than a decade ago, I routinely heard complaints about Common Core from many math and English Language Arts teachers.
The chief criticism was that Common Core took a one-size-fits-all approach, which any teacher can tell you is a recipe for student failure.
One of the few holdouts to Common Core has been Florida.
When it comes to education, the Sunshine State has bucked recent trends in favor of universalizing standards, adopting DEI programs in public schools, and granting more power and influence to public schools and teachers unions.
More importantly, Florida’s education standards, in my opinion, are the best in the nation.
I have spent many hours combing through state standards, and I was thoroughly impressed with the Florida Board of Education’s unique approach.
For starters, Florida has a very user-friendly digital hub labeled “Standards and Instructional Support.”
While many states make it quite difficult to find and access standards, Florida’s standards are easily accessible, and the website includes a litany of resources and instructional materials.
In 2022, Florida updated its mathematics standards to incorporate what it calls “Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking” (BEST). The chief “changes and improvements” focused on “simplicity,” “practicality,” and “specificity.” Believe me, those are three words that are music to the ears of teachers.
More importantly, the “guiding principles for change” were centered upon “high expectations” and “clarity.” Those terms are music to the ears of parents.
As a former high school social studies teacher, I was most curious about Florida’s social studies standards.
In 2008, Florida adopted the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards for Social Studies, which defined core content knowledge in American History, Civics/Government, Geography, Economics, World History, and Humanities.
In 2025, Florida added a new content area to its social studies standards called “the history of communism.”
To my knowledge, Florida is the only state with a specific set of standards dedicated exclusively to teaching the history of communism. I think this is something more states should consider because American students are not only falling behind in math, science, and reading.
The Nation’s Report Card shows that American public schools are utterly failing to teach basic U.S. history and civics. Even more concerning, multiple polls, and recent election results, show that most young Americans want socialism in the United States.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis did not mince words when he explained why he signed SB 1264 into law. “We will not allow our students to live in ignorance, nor be indoctrinated by Communist apologists in schools. To the contrary, we will ensure students in Florida are taught the truth about the evils and dangers of Communism,” he plainly stated.
Make no mistake, Florida shows that states can do right by parents, students, and teachers when they take their roles as the laboratories of democracy seriously and ensure that their education standards and policies are accessible, understandable, and as rigorous as possible.
If you think your state’s standards are not up to par, the good news is that you can always do a little research and relocate to a state like Florida, which puts the interests of parents and students above all else.
