Comments regarding National Standards Adoption by Iowa

Ann Berger, an English teacher at Pleasant Valley High School in eastern Iowa, wants state officials to slow down.

"It truly is a waste of taxpayer money, time and energy because quite honestly the professionals know better," she said. "It's my job to figure out what each of those kids needs. We all should be differentiating, instead of standardizing."

Iowa officials say the state and national blueprints are compatible because they tell schools what to teach but not how to teach it.

"We like the specificity of it," said Phyllis Staplin, the West Des Moines school district's curriculum director. "The art form of instruction will still continue. It has to."