Christian Gooden/Post-Dispatch

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon missed the boat when he decided against joining — even for the time being — 46 other states that have agreed to work together to develop common standards for language arts and mathematics in grades kindergarten through 12.

To be sure, Mr. Nixon’s deliberations were made tougher with the death in January of D. Kent King, the longtime commissioner of the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Finalists for the job have been named, and a spokesman for the governor said Mr. Nixon wants to consult with the new commissioner before committing to the common standards.

The caution is understandable, but time is money. More than $4 billion in federal stimulus funds are being devoted to a national “Race to the Top Fund” to support innovation and leadership in the nation’s public K-12 schools. Some $350 million of that will go to states that have signed onto the new standards.

The Common Core State Standards Initiative asks state education leaders to agree on a basic baseline for what children across the country need to know to be ready for college and careers in a global economy. And things are moving fast.

States participating in the initiative will be working over the summer and into the fall on grade-by-grade standards. Meanwhile, a proposed rule for federal grants is expected to be published in July, with applications potentially due as early as December.

The delay may be political. Two years ago, the Missouri education board voted to oppose national standards, curriculum and tests, saying that they would “dumb down” expectations. But nothing in the federal proposal  prevents states from adopting more ambitious standards.

The real problem may be that some lawmakers and local school officials resent the idea of giving more power over local educational decisions to federal officials.

Mr. Nixon should stand up to them; public education in Missouri has desperately urgent needs. The St. Louis public schools, the state’s largest district, are unaccredited. Kansas City’s public schools are teetering. Districts across the state face serious challenges with funding and student achievement along with recruiting and retaining quality teachers.

Missouri has plenty of qualified experts who could offer an interested governor advice. There’s no excuse for Missouri to be standing with Alaska, South Carolina and Texas as outliers on public education — rather than sitting at the table with the rest of nation.