Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana join states in shared math test

The Zanesville Times Recorder in a story by Nancy Zuckerbrod (AP Education Writer)reports:

"Nine states have come together for the first time to develop a common high school math test, a move described by some as a step toward national educational standards."

The group of states includes Kentucky, Arkansas, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.

Mike Cohen, president of Achieve Inc., a Washington-based nonprofit (created by the nation's governors) that is helping design the standards told the Associated Press that the states are considering making scores on the test available to college placement offices to help determine the level of coursework freshmen are prepared to take. “This is a state-led effort to create consistent standards and assessments. It would not have happened if the federal government had tried to make that happen,” Cohen said, adding that he expects additional states to join the nine.

Since NCLB allowed states to determine their own definition of "proficient" many more students are able to achieve proficiency on the state tests than on national math and reading tests. This has prompted many to conclude that some states are setting their standards too low. Some in Congress are advocating provisions that would encourage states to voluntarily adopt common standards.

Bruce Fuller, a professor of education and public policy at the University of California at Berkeley told the AP that the law penalizes schools that don’t make adequate progress, so they are tinkering with "proficiency" to avoid penalties and meet their 2014 goals. “As this mischief is exposed out in the states, it’s going to further support this push for national standards,” he said.

While the math test is still in development, Achieve Inc. is moving ahead to other subjects.

Former Fayette County Superintendent, now Arkansas Commissioner of Education Ken James is on board. “These youngsters aren’t going to stay in our respective states for the most part,” James said. “They’re going to need portable skills, and we should be able to agree on what those portable skills are going to be.”

With states bailing out on high standards at present, it's difficult to predict how many will ultimately sign on. The percentage of participating states will have to be near 100% for the effort to be meaningful and that may put pressure on federal officials to soften penalties against states that presently fail to meet high standards, as an incentive to join. At present 29 states have agreed in principle to "prepar[e] all students for college and work."

Since the Constitution makes education a province of the states, increased federal control over the most important aspects of schooling may well give rise to new legal challenges.

And more from the Courier-Journal.