Friday, July 30, 2010

The Non-story in New York’s New Test Results � The Quick and the Ed

The Non-story in New York’s New Test Results � The Quick and the Ed

The Non-story in New York’s New Test Results

With headlines like “Test scores down sharply; biggest decline for needy students,” it’s no wonder that politicians are sometimes reluctant to raise educational standards: it can make them look bad. That’s unfortunate, because here we have a state, New York, essentially saying that it’s test score proficiency bar was too low and that kids need higher standards. Instead of being praised for being honest to students and families about the academic achievement levels necessary to be successful in college, the media is making it look like test scores went way down. That’s far from the truth.
Before going into the specific numbers, let’s take a pretty simple metaphor. The commissioner of basketball decides that it’s too easy for players to dunk on 10 foot hoops nowadays. We’ve lost our edge in international

QUICK Hits