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Commentary: Testing, testing ...
The word in Washington, DC, is that
the Bush administration soon will release the details
of its plan to strengthen high schools by requiring
annual testing in grades 9, 10 and 11. At the same
time, growing numbers of states are considering changes
to existing high school testing programs.
When it comes to high school testing,
more of the same will not do. Before federal or state
officials rush to add new tests, they should make
sure that any testing program supports the high schools' mission
of helping every student who enters 9th grade graduate
academically prepared for postsecondary education
and work, including job training. As we have shown
in the American Diploma Project's report Ready or
Not: Creating a High School Diploma That Counts,
the core knowledge and skills in math and English
needed for college-level work are the same ones needed
for access to a job that provides a decent income.
This finding has profound implications
for the nature of high school assessment systems.
To support the high schools’ mission, these assessment
systems should include three types of measures:
A graduation exam that establishes
a floor and triggers help to students. Students
should be required to demonstrate that they meet
state standards by passing a graduation exam or
series of end-of-course exams. Current exit exams
(required in about half the states) are beginning
to do this, but Achieve's recent study, Do Graduation
Tests Measure Up? A Closer Look at State High School
Exit Exams, shows these tests primarily measure
8th and 9th grade material — a decent start, but
not the rigorous standards students should be meeting
to earn a diploma. Over time, the standards should
be ratcheted up so that students are required to
do at least 10th grade work to pass.
More important, exit exams should
trigger interventions for students who need
them. The purpose of giving these tests is to
help students learn, not punish them. Students
should have multiple opportunities to take and
pass the exams, and they should receive targeted
assistance to help address learning gaps.
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News Clips
Click on the links below to view
articles of interest from the past month. Some
publications require free registration to read
articles.
- Beyond paper-and-pencil
tests. In line with a major recommendation
of the American Diploma Project, Rhode
Island is requiring students to complete
special projects to prove they are proficient
in a variety of subjects. Meanwhile, a growing
number of teachers and schools are making research
projects a requirement for graduation.
- Preparation pays. The
higher education system in Kentucky is
on track to send a clear signal to high school
students about what they need to know to be placed
in credit-bearing college courses. Massachusetts is
coming at college prep from a different angle,
encouraging students to score at the proficient
and advanced levels on MCAS with the promise of
a college scholarship.
- Yes, Virginia, high school
does matter. Governor
Mark Warner is calling for a nationwide focus
on high school reform. Virginia
has seen great improvement on the state's end-of-course
graduation tests, but the state's colleges and
universities don't seem to be paying much attention — they
put little emphasis on SOL scores when judging
candidates for admissions. Perhaps they should
look to Texas where state universities use the
high school assessment for these purposes.
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Perspective is sent to you monthly by Achieve, a bipartisan,
non-profit organization founded by the nation's governors and CEOs to help
states raise standards, improve assessments and strengthen accountability to
prepare all young people for postsecondary education, work and citizenship.
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Copyright © 2004 Achieve, Inc.
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