Time for Truth in Assessing College and Career Readiness

We routinely teach our children the importance of honesty and telling the truth, even when it is difficult or uncomfortable.   But, for years, we have been giving our children the false impression that passing the MCAS exams and earning good grades means they are ready to do college work and qualify for jobs.  Remediation rates at our public colleges and universities show this isn’t true. The Department of Higher Education reports that:

“In Massachusetts, 60% of community college students, 22% of state university students, and 10% of UMass students take at least one remedial course, with the need for math remediation significantly outpacing that in writing and reading. Research indicates that students who are enrolled in remedial courses are much less likely to graduate from college.”

The cost of not graduating all students ready for college and career is signficant in both college remediation costs and lost earnings.  Some estimates put the price at $57 million annually for community college remediation alone.

So, it is hard to believe that there are educators and parents who oppose the development and implementation of assessments that will more accurately measure the knowledge and skills students need to succeed after high school because our students may not score as well on these tests as they do on MCAS.   Isn’t it time we acknowledge that our current system isn’t providing complete information and that we need to address this problem?  Shouldn’t we be teaching our children how to deal with difficult challenges rather than ignoring these until the problem escalates?

MBAE and others in the business community strongly support the development of better assessments of college and career readiness and believe we have the fortitude to face the truth about our students’ achievement.  We are distressed by the calls in other states to delay and obfuscate rather than doing the hard work of moving ahead.   And, we are concerned that this type of backward thinking is emerging in Massachusetts as field testing of new assessments (PARCC – Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Career) is underway.   While we support the demands of educators for the professional development and supports needed to effectively implement college and career ready assessments, the positive attitudes of over 70% of teachers in recent polls indicates a strong majority are satisfied we are going in the right direction and want to continue making progress.

It is astonishing that calls for delay are coming at the same time that the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reports that less than half of our nation’s 12th graders are proficient in math and reading!  Massachusetts students scored 34 in math and 43 in reading – certainly not sufficient for their individual success or the future of our state’s knowledge-based economy.

Parents, teachers and all caring adults in the Commonwealth have the opportunity to set an example of honesty by holding firm to the process we’ve started to accurately and truthfully assess and report whether a student is on track for college and career readiness.  Let’s show our children we have the courage and strength to face and address our problems, not cave to those who would avoid facing reality.