In a nation that strives to educate all of its youth to their abilities, finding

a curriculum to meet students needs and measuring student outcomes becomes crit
ical. All students should be able to graduate from high school on equal footing,
and this is possible only through implementing a common national curriculum.
In today's economy many desirable jobs require a college degree. The many studen
ts who hope to matriculate in a reputable college after graduating high school d
eserve to have their grades in high school judged fairly by college admission bo
ards. With a national curriculum, college admissions boards could know with a h
igher degree of certainty that a student with an A grade in world history actual
ly outperformed a student at a different school with a B grade in world history.
The only reliable measurements currently that college admissions boards current
ly use to compare high school students aptitude are long standardized tests like
the ACT and SAT. However, these tests unfairly misrepresent the abilities of st
udents who work hard for four years in school to get good grades but struggle wi
th the duration and intensity of long tests that require quick decision making.
Even when we disregard the conundrum that college admissions boards face with st
udents who want to go to college, we can see that that students who enter the wo
rkforce directly out of high school would benefit from a national curriculum. Fo
r example, a young person beginning in an entry level job at Walmart whose high
school offered more in-depth math classes would likely be a more efficient cashi
er and perhaps decision maker than one whose school lagged behind in math curric
ulum. A student whose school required a class in public speaking may succeed as
a telemarketer while a student whose school did not may struggle and lose their
job. It is our national duty to prepare those who do not have a college educatio
n in their future to have success in the work force because for them failure in
the workplace has potentially more dire consequences. By establishing a common n
ational curriculum we could ensure a more fair playing field for this population
after high school graduation.
However, a common national curriculum need not be absolutely rigid and set in st
one. For example, states should have the ability to empasise their state and loc
al history in US history classes. Also, school districts in particularly impover
ished areas should have the ability to offer classes that educate students about
unique issues they face. For example, the conditions of students that live in a
food desert could be ameliorated by nutritional education. A common national cu
rriculum could both level the playing field in the basic classes curriculum that
would be required of all school districts while accomodating for the unique ski
lls students in specific areas need.