Higher Standards, Stronger Tests: Don't Shoot the Messenger
In the education reform debates of the
previous two decades, equity and excellence were too often viewed as
competing, perhaps even mutually exclusive, policy goals. Since the
mid-'90s, however, the movement to raise academic standards has emerged
as a promising vehicle to accomplish both goals. One reason the
standards movement has to date enjoyed broad public support is its
implicit claim that we do not have to choose between equity and
excellence, that our schools can significantly improve the achievement
of those whom they have served least well historically while at the
same time raising the bar for all. As new assessments and
accountability policies have begun to be implemented in several states,
the tension between these twin goals of the standards movement have
come to the surface, causing some to question the political stability
and staying power of this movement.
In Massachusetts, New York, and Virginia, to name three recent examples, initial high failure rates on rigorous new state assessments, especially in districts and schools serving large concentrations of poor and minority students, have triggered attacks on the standards and tests themselves, and called for deferral or elimination of consequences based on the tests. In response, policymakers in these states have proposed lowering the passing bar, at least in the first year or two in which tests will count. These actions have in turn precipitated a counterreaction from those who fear that such a move signals a retreat from high standards and will sound the death knell for the movement.
Is there a way to resolve such tensions? Are equity and excellence in fact irreconcilable goals? Can this movement maintain its broad public support as educators and students face much greater accountability for performance? It was in the context of such questions that the third National Education Summit took place last...
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