Test Scores Sink as New York Adopts Tougher Benchmarks

New York Times ^ | 08/08/2013 | JAVIER C. HERNÁNDEZ and ROBERT GEBELOFF

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The number of New York students passing state reading and math exams dropped drastically this year, education officials reported on Wednesday, unsettling parents, principals and teachers and posing new challenges to a national effort to toughen academic standards.

In New York City, 26 percent of students in third through eighth grade passed the tests in English, and 30 percent passed in math, according to the New York State Education Department.

The exams were some of the first in the nation to be aligned with a more rigorous set of standards known as the Common Core, which emphasize deep analysis and creative problem-solving over short answers and memorization. Last year, under an easier test, 47 percent of city students passed in English, and 60 percent in math.

City and state officials spent months trying to steel the public for the grim figures.

But when the results were released, many educators responded with shock that their students measured up so poorly against the new yardsticks of achievement.

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My wife works in College Admissions in Ga. Had an applicant recently that had all straight “A”s in public high school, she could not pass the achievement tests to place out of math and english for dummies (not called that, but it is what it is) .

These remedial classes are required if basic knowledge and skills can not be demonstrated on the subject matter, and these classes are not counted as college course credits toward any degree.

Grade inflation, how does it work again?

[stremba]

I’m not familiar with common core, so I can’t comment on it, but a curriculum that focuses less on memorization of facts and more on problem solving skills is EXACTLY what is needed to prepare kids for the real world. Obviously, it can be taken too far; there are some facts that need to be learned (such as your example with multiplication tables). However, what need is there in the modern work force for a person whose main skill is the ability to memorize and produce factual information upon demand? Employers already have such a tool, and it’s much cheaper than an employee; it’s called google.

We need to prepare our children for the real world. In the real world, analysis, critical thinking, and problem solving are the skills employers need in their employees. Factual memorization beyond that needed to provide a basic understanding of a subject just is not the way to go.