Oregon Public Broadcasting

While the federal government works to provide money for schools, educators are coming together to improve what they call core standards. 

These are the disciplines like math and language arts, that educators say American students need to master to be competitive in the global marketplace. 

The publication Education Week just released a report about this initiative. 

Christopher Swanson is a Vice President with the company that publishes Education Week.  He says the states are coming together on this idea.