The article below, based on a school system in New York City, highlights a major concern that many educators hold nationwide: Standardized testing is often flawed and seemingly arbitrary. In this example, testing criteria shifted by lowering the percentage points needed to pass because some of the questions are harder than the ones on the same test from last year. As the article surmises:

“At a time when the tests are assuming an unprecedented role in classrooms across the state — used for everything from analyzing student deficiencies to determining which educators deserve cash bonuses — the debate underscores a central question: How accurate are the exams in measuring student learning and progress, and what skills should a passing grade reflect?”

Co-director of the Upward Bound programs at the University of Maine, Lori C. Wingo, addressed this issue in last week’s article dated 9/11/09, “Student Ability to Excel Lost.” She writes: “The gap between a high school diploma and college readiness is widening at an alarming rate.” She continues in her essay for the Bangor Daily News, “These matriculating college students have traded critical thinking skills and higher levels of learning for a curriculum that asks only for proficiency and tests for it in multiple choice format.”

[Source: http://www.bangordailynews.com/detail/120013.html]

Indeed, critical and creative thinking skills are required if a person is to adapt and flourish in the 21st Century. Peter Sacks, in his book, Standardized Minds, concludes that “scoring high on standardized tests is a good predictor of one’s ability to score high on standardized tests.” Research has not been able to correlate achievement on these tests with any future success in school or work. Take this question from New York’s practice test:

The year 1999 was a big one for the Williams sisters. In February, Serena won her first pro singles championship. In March, the sisters met for the first time in a tournament final. Venus won. And at doubles tennis, the Williams girls could not seem to lose that year. The story says that in 1999, the sisters could not seem to lose at doubles tennis. This probably means when they played:

A. two matches in one day
B. against each other
C. with two balls at once
D. as partners

Is this test measuring reading skills or tennis knowledge? A strong reader could probably figure out the correct answer, but a student with knowledge of the rules of tennis has a definite advantage. Teaching to the test also narrows the curriculum, forcing teachers and students to concentrate on memorization of isolated facts, instead of developing fundamental and higher order abilities. As students and families strive toward college, career and life success in the ubiquitous testing environment, we need to ask ourselves:

• What other methods of assessment are available that can accurately measure a student’s mastery of subject material and life skills?
• What can we learn from other nations who tend to use performance-based assessments for evaluation of student achievement and future success rather than multiple-choice matrices?
• How can the U.S. better prepare students for life after high school?

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ARTICLE
New York Times
by Javier C. Hernandez

For many students, bungling more than half the questions on a test would mean an F and all that comes with it — months of remedial work, irksome teachers and, perhaps, a skimpy allowance. But on New York State’s math exam this year, seventh graders who correctly answered just 44 percent of questions were rewarded with a passing grade.

What gives?

Three years ago, the threshold for passing was 60 percent. In fact, students in every grade this year could slide by with fewer correct answers on the math test than in 2006.

To view the entire article visit
http://bit.ly/19NCPj

CAROL’S SUMMARY:
As the article below verifies, almost half of the 3 million students who start their first year of college this month will drop out before they earn their degrees. While there are several culprits of the drop out crisis, one of the most pressing is inadequate preparation of students in high school to prepare them for college level work.

Thomas Freidman’s book, The World is Flat, describes how many countries around the world are doing top-rate jobs of educating their emerging “talent” in the students coming through their institutions. Many of those students live in underdeveloped countries like India , Russia and China , but they have overdeveloped minds compared to students right now in the United States . They are also hungrier to do work and to learn.

Because of technology and the ways in which people now learn and do business all over the world, we are more interdependent than ever. Jobs that use to exist for Americans solely in America are now outsourced to people in other countries. So, today’s students are competing for jobs with people from all over the world, not just people in the U.S . It has never been more critical to be a student who is committed, tenacious, has faith in their self and believes that they can continue to learn and grow.

In order for high schools to do their job of creating a college-bound culture, they need student success and transition programs in place for incoming 9th graders and subsequent programs for each grade level through 12th grade. The aim of LifeBound’s programs, and my life work, is to help students understand the realities of the world in which they live so that they will be able to command every advantage that life has to offer. We assume that every student can succeed, and they will succeed once they know what the world expects of them—where the bar is—so they can have the motivation to go over that bar with competence and self-assuredness. If teachers and students are both aware of this reality, they can work together to best prepare students for the world they will enter after college.

Many students struggle with the basic disciplines that help them face their challenges with a relentless dedication. There are strategies students can learn, however, if these qualities are not already innate within the student. We need to examine answers to these questions:

How can high schools do a better job of promoting 21st Century Skills for all types of learners?

What are some of the biggest challenges to implementing these programs starting in 9th grade?

How can we marshall resources to make sure every student has equal access to a quality education?

ARTICLE
U.S. News & World Report
by Mike Bowler

Higher education officials cheered this summer when President Barack Obama pledged to boost the U.S. college graduation rate to first in the world—after years of stagnation—and announced a $12 billion plan to produce 5 million more community college grads by 2020. Currently, community colleges enroll more than 6 million students in the United States.

It will be a huge challenge. Thirty percent of college and university students drop out after their first year. Half never graduate, and college completion rates in the United States have been stalled for more than three decades. “The overall record is quite bad, especially for African-Americans and other minorities,” says Kati Haycock, president of the Education Trust, a nonprofit group in Washington that works to close achievement gaps. “The colleges want us to think everyone graduates, but in fact a huge number don’t, and many leave with significant loan debts and job skills totally inadequate in the 21st century.”

To view the entire article visit
http://bit.ly/BQ7sq

CAROL’S SUMMARY:
Average scores on the SAT college entrance exam dipped slightly for the high school class of 2009, while gender, race, and income gaps widened, according to figures released August 25th by the College Board. While College Board stresses that “students who had completed a core curriculum, taken their school’s most rigorous courses and familiarized themselves with the test were among the strongest performers,” they don’t address why some groups consistently outperform others on standardized tests.

Yale professor Robert Sternberg’s concept of Successful Intelligence, which looks at broadening the definition of intelligence and creating new tools to measure it, considers more than verbal and mathematical abilities by examining creativity, initiative and leadership skills. Some of the students who score lower on tests like the SAT may exhibit high levels of emotional and social intelligence in their every day activities, but these abilities aren’t as easy to measure from a paper and pencil exam even though they are predictor’s of success in college, career and life. Sternberg’s concern is for students who don’t test well: “[they] never get the chance to show what they really could do in important jobs,” Sternberg said last year in an interview with PBS. Here are questions to consider:

How can we reliably measure aptitudes like social and emotional skills?

Why are Asian-Americans scoring higher than other students on the SAT?

What can we do on a school by school level to close these gaps between gender, race and income?

ARTICLE
USA Today
By Mary Beth Marklein
Average national SAT scores for the high school class of 2009 dropped two points compared with last year, a report out today says. And while the population of test takers was the most diverse ever, average scores vary widely by race and ethnicity.

To view the entire article visit
http://bit.ly/G4kC1