History of IDEA
Jeannie Oakes, Founder and Former Director
Youth Voice in School Finance
NEW REPORT: Los Angeles' road to A-G for all
Without Dollars and Sense Powerpoint
Past Educational Opportunity Reports
States all over the map on defining proficiency
- 10-29-2010
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Blog by John Fensterwald /Educated Guess
California is often praised for its “world-class” content standards, which define what students should be taught at every grade level. But when it comes to actual performance standards, defining what knowledge students must demonstrate to prove they’re proficient in math and English, hold the pat on the back. California falls back into the pack. Except for a handful of states, led by Massachusetts, most states’ performance standards – including California’s – pale compared with those of high-performing nations such as Japan, South Korea, and Singapore in math, and Canada, Singapore, and some European nations in reading, according to a report this week by the American Institutes for Research. And the standards among the 50 states vary so much as to render the definition of proficiency all but meaningless. By setting low performance standards, the authors write, states create “the illusion of high rates of proficiency, which have a palliative effect on public opinion and meet the requirements of federal reporting. (more…)
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