By Hinda Elman
To measure and evaluate English and Math
Our students graduate high school with a deficient preparation in fundamental areas, which affects their performance in college and in their professional life.
What is the government doing to correct this?
On July 2011, the Florida Educational Board approved the adoption of the “Common Fundamental Standards” regarding English and Math. These standards define the knowledge and skills that students need to acquire during the 12 school years, regardless of the school they attend.
The United States Department of Education, assigned part of the funds of the program “Race to the top” to the “Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers” (PARCC), whose objective is to measure and evaluates common standards. Florida is a member of this association of 24 states, whose goal is to race the number of students who graduate high school with the appropriate level of preparation.
Will the new standards improve student´s performance? According to a study published in February 2012 by Brookings Institution: “How well are American students learning?” the improvement of standards does not relate to student´s achievement or grades. There is no proof of improvement on the states which implemented the new standards between 2003 and 2009. We will have to wait to evaluate the results.
Source: Edition 12
