Latest from the "Raise the Bar" Testocracy Crowd

[Bob Schaeffer <bobschaeffer@earthlink.net>]

STUDY SAYS U.S. SHOULD REPLACE STATES' HIGH SCHOOL STANDARDS
New York Times -- February 10, 2004
by Karen W. Arenson

A patchwork of state standards is failing to produce high school 
graduates who are prepared either for college or for work, three 
education policy organizations say in a new report. The solution, they 
say, is to adopt rigorous national standards that will turn the high 
school diploma into a "common national currency."

"For too many graduates, the American high school diploma signifies only 
a broken promise," the groups, which favor standardized testing to 
improve education, say.

Working through what they call the American Diploma Project, the 
organizations  Achieve Inc., the Education Trust and the Thomas B. 
Fordham Foundation  consulted with higher education officials and 
business executives in five states to develop standards they say will 
ensure that high school graduates are equipped to move into either 
college-level work or a decent-paying job.

"For many kids, the diploma is a ticket to nowhere," Kati Haycock, 
director of the Education Trust, said. "In this era, where some 
postsecondary education is essential, that's no good."

Ms. Haycock said half the students who went on to four-year colleges 
ended up taking some remedial course work because their preparation was 
inadequate.

The report charges that employers and postsecondary institutions "all 
but ignore the diploma, knowing that it often serves as little more than 
a certificate of attendance," because "what it takes to earn one is 
disconnected from what it takes for graduates to compete successfully 
beyond high school."

The diploma project comes as others are looking for ways to improve high 
schools. A commission appointed by the National Assessment Governing 
Board is studying whether national 12th grade tests should try to 
measure high school seniors' readiness for work and college. The board 
sets policy for the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or 
N.A.E.P., the nationwide examinations given in 4th, 8th and 12th grades 
and referred to as the "the nation's report card."

"We are considering looking beyond high school to be more predictive 
about how they would do in the workplace and in college," Charles E. 
Smith, executive director of the governing board, said.

The diploma project recommends that the N.A.E.P. tests be realigned 
based on standards in the report.

Some critics of high-stakes testing say the challenge is not determining 
what students ought to know, but in teaching them.

"They're saying that if we have one set of standards, students will meet 
them," said Monty Neill, executive director of the National Center for 
Fair and Open Testing in Cambridge, Mass. "But if you are not going to 
provide the resources to help students meet the standards, they're not 
going to meet them, whatever the standards are."

Mr. Neill said many states already had standards that were far beyond 
what their students were achieving. If some states have standards that 
are too low, he added, they should re-examine them, rather than impose a 
common national standard.

In English, the diploma project calls for mastery of spelling and 
grammar, communication skills, writing, research and logic, as well as 
the ability to read and interpret technical material, to view media 
critically and to understand and analyze literature. In math, it calls 
for mastery of numerical operations, algebra, geometry and data 
interpretation, statistics and probability, and provides sample problems.


http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/10/education/10DIPL.html