Almost half of states fail academic standards test

August 29, 2006

by Jennifer Leischer

Weak expectations drive calls for national testing

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Two-thirds of schoolchildren in America will return to class in coming weeks in states with mediocre (or worse) expectations for what their students should learn.

Five years after No Child Left Behind made standards-based education reform the law of the land, a new study finds that the subject-by-subject state standards that undergird this reform strategy remain inadequate in most jurisdictions. The State of State Standards 2006, the first full review of such standards since 2000, confers an average grade of "C-minus"-the same as six years earlier-even though most states revised their standards during that period.

"Strong standards have always been the key to standards-based reform and they're even more important under NCLB when schools face consequences for not meeting them," said Fordham Foundation president Chester E. Finn, Jr. "While debates over testing get more attention, a state's standards exert tremendous influence over what actually happens in its classrooms."

• Twenty-six states earned a "D" or an "F" grade overall, including Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Oregon.
• Eleven performed worse than in 2000, including Wisconsin, Florida, Ohio, and Utah.
• Nine states earned honors grades in all subjects, led by Massachusetts, California, and New York.
• Nine improved their grade by one letter or more, including Indiana, Georgia, and Virginia.

Tables showing state grades for 2006-and trends since 2000-are attached.  To see how each state's standards measure up, visit http://www.edexcellence.net/detail/news.cfm?news_id=358.

The Fordham report includes an account by former San Jose Mercury News journalist Joanne Jacobs explaining how three top-rated states (California, Indiana, and Massachusetts) developed "A"-rated standards for all subjects.

"These three exemplars show that, with the right leadership, every state can create world-class standards," said Michael J. Petrilli, Fordham's vice president for national programs and policy. "If it can happen in Sacramento, it can happen in Springfield, Salem, or Salt Lake City. It could even happen in Washington, D.C."

National standards and tests-more than just a dream

A second new Fordham report, To Dream the Impossible Dream: Four Approaches to National Standards and Tests for America's Schools, identifies one possible alternative to dysfunctional state standards: a rigorous system of national standards and tests. This report brings together education policy leaders across the political spectrum, including philanthropist Eli Broad, former West Virginia governor Bob Wise, and Hoover Institution fellow Diane Ravitch, to flesh out and evaluate several forms that national testing could take:

1. The Whole Enchilada. The U.S. moves to a national accountability system for K-12 education by tasking the federal government with the creation and enforcement of mandatory standards and assessments to replace the current state-by-state system.
2. If You Build It, They Will Come. A voluntary version whereby Uncle Sam develops national standards, tests and accountability metrics, and provides incentives to states (e.g., more money, fewer regulations) to opt into such a system. (A variant would ask a private group to frame the standards.) Participation is optional for states which remain free to set their own standards.
3. Let's All Hold Hands. Under this approach, states are encouraged to join together to develop common standards and tests. Washington would provide incentives for such collaboration.
4. Sunshine and Shame. This less-ambitious model makes state standards and tests more transparent by making them easier to compare to one another and to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).
   
   See Table 2 (below) for how each approach might address the biggest problems with the current system.

"Big modern countries need big modern standards from sea to shining sea," remarked Finn. "Most other nations have figured this out. In America, however, we've left standard setting to the states and most of them have bungled the job. This report takes our dialogue about standards, testing and accountability to a new level. I hope it brings closer the day when all our children and schools are held to the same rigorous expectations."

To obtain more information or copies of the reports, please contact Jennifer Leischer, Communications Manager, at 202/223-5452. To access the reports online, visit http://www.edexcellence.net/detail/news.cfm?news_id=361.

Nationally and in our home state of Ohio, the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation strives to close America's vexing achievement gaps by raising standards, strengthening accountability, and expanding high-quality education options for parents and families. For more information about the Foundation's work, visit http://www.edexcellence.net/.

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