DES MOINES (AP) - When a student from another school district switches to Katie Pilcher's classroom, she knows what to expect - a game of catch-up.

Lessons her second-grade class have been learning for weeks often aren't even part of the curriculum at the student's previous school.

"I have to backpedal a little bit" for new students, said Pilcher, a teacher at Greenwood Elementary in Des Moines.

Such transitions could become a bit easier in a few years, as Iowa ends its status as the last state without uniform curriculum standards. The Legislature approved the change last session, making the Iowa Core Curriculum the basis for what teachers will cover in their classrooms beginning in 2012.

It's a significant shift for a state that for decades has supported the philosophy that those closest to the classroom should decide what's taught to their students.

Education officials acknowledge they were initially reluctant to change the system.

"Why change something that's working well?" asked Margaret Buckton, a spokeswoman for the Iowa Association of School Boards. "Up until three years ago, we were very proud of being the only state in the nation that didn't have state content standards."

Then Iowa's education paradigm slowly crumbled. Evidence began to mount showing Iowa was losing ground on other states in the classroom and in preparing their youth for the work force.

The school board association, relying on studies detailing Iowa's academic standing, decided a change was needed and began lobbying the Legislature for statewide standards.

Buckton said two issues struck hard when her group reviewed Iowa's education system:

- Iowa's districts, to the association's surprise, had implemented starkly different curriculums.

- Many states with rigorous education standards made greater strides than Iowa on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a federal report card that compares states' student achievement.

According to a review of the federal assessments from 1992-2005, Iowa ranked among the bottom 10 states in improving scores in eighth-grade math, and fourth-grade math and reading. The analysis was conducted by the Washington-based Pew Research Center.

In addition, a U.S. Chamber of Commerce report last year gave Iowa a C on preparing students for college and the work force, and a D for ensuring that teachers have the skills and knowledge to teach.

The studies prompted a change of heart for even Iowa's staunchest supporters of local control.

Judy Jeffrey, the director of Iowa's education department, said she changed her mind amid overwhelming support by school districts for statewide standards. She said districts no longer had time to research and develop an effective curriculum and needed the state's help to ensure every student would get the same educational opportunity.

"The world is moving so fast," Jeffrey said. "The needs are changing for students and teachers."

The Iowa Core Curriculum will be implemented by 2012 in grades 9-12, and by 2014 in kindergarten through eighth grade. The curriculum identifies concepts and skill sets for reading, math, science and social studies.

The Legislature has allocated about $2 million for the plan, which Jeffrey acknowledged will have its obstacles.

"It's complex, and it's going to take time," she said. "This will be a new kind of teaching and learning in the state."

For Pilcher, the second grade teacher, the change makes sense.

"(Schools need) continuity between the grade levels so that you don't have one second grade class learning about insects and another one that doesn't," she said.