A major story in yesterday's Boston Globe had the headline "Bay State 12th-graders top nation in test results". The opening paragraph seconded the headline with regard to reading and math. But if you read further, you began to have doubts as to the real significance of these results.
First, this was a pilot program in which only eleven states participated. How representative of the nation are these eleven states?
More importantly, the degree of success of these 12th graders is dicey, shall I say. Fewer than half (46%)of the Massachusetts students, the leaders in this test, were considered proficient in reading; 37% of the rest of the group was considered proficient. The same situation prevailed in mathematics; Mass.kids scored 36%, nationally the score of proficient students was 25%.
How in the Lord's name can anyone consider these results good?
First, this was a pilot program in which only eleven states participated. How representative of the nation are these eleven states?
More importantly, the degree of success of these 12th graders is dicey, shall I say. Fewer than half (46%)of the Massachusetts students, the leaders in this test, were considered proficient in reading; 37% of the rest of the group was considered proficient. The same situation prevailed in mathematics; Mass.kids scored 36%, nationally the score of proficient students was 25%.
How in the Lord's name can anyone consider these results good?
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