If a quality education were dependent on a test such as the NAEP then Arizona students would appear to have suddenly transformed themselves by achieving dramatic improvements. Robert Robb in his lead editorial feels that our switch to Charter Schools and School Choice are fully validated by such improvements. AzMerit by contrast shows no improvement so the implication is that it's not a good test. What the difference in performance between NAEP and AzMerit illustrates is that "testing" is an inadequate way of assessing educational performance or attainment. Like PSAT and ACT, they are one off shots at getting a broad picture of what a student might or might not know or understand on one particular day.
HOW DO WE COMPARE?
We are the only country in the world as far as I know that believes this form of "testing" is a valid way of assessing the educational process at the secondary level. If we were to assess the success of our High Schools by the number of students going on to complete a 4-year course at university, we get a totally different picture. Our students in High School may be tested almost to death but over 50% fall by the wayside because they are unprepared for the challenges of academic life at university. 30 percent of all our students drop out of college during or after their first year of study. So less testing or more testing doesn't make any difference.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF HIGH SCHOOL
Why is it European students are far less likely by a long way to drop out than American students? The general answer is that the teaching and learning in European High Schools is far more rigorous and demanding. Entry to university often depends on public examinations taken at the end of the High School Senior year. Students can also choose different courses at different High Schools, which better suit their talents. America clings to the outdated belief that one size High school fits all. We feel that tinkering with the system and putting students through more tests will somehow improve everything. It won't.
A ROLE FOR BUSINESS IN EDUCATION?
If we are to improve then students need greater choice and flexibility during their High School years. In the German education system, businesses are heavily invested in the secondary Schools. They consult directly, send their top technicians to teach so that those businesses get the right sort of graduates and the students in turn know that a good job will be waiting for them. We don't have those connections. How often do we hear from business that they can't find the right sort of graduate and yet they are not involved in our High Schools? If businesses want the right people then they have to be connected to and have some input in the schools.
MEASURING A SCHOOL'S ACADEMIC SUCCESS
The other big improvement we have to make is to make sure public examinations such as the Advanced Placement, The International Baccalaureate and the Cambridge Overseas Examinations set the parameters of High School success. That is what some of the Charter Schools have already done and it works and it's what parents want. Parents should know how many students are entered for each subject and what the results are, not individually but by subject. A student should be able to say, "I am really interested in Physics and Chemistry and want to go to X High School because they get the best results and have the best teachers." Using such parameters will tell us how successful a school is academically. That's real choice. Singapore since its inception has used such a system and its GDP now rivals that of the US. It's not rocket science.
REWARDING TOP TEACHERS
An added bonus with such a system is that good teachers in their subject who know how to motivate their students and achieve top results stand out. Students will vote with their feet. "Get into Mrs. Smith's Math class. Everyone gets fantastically good results in the AP examination." or "I'm moving to Y High School because they have Intel teachers there and that's who I want to work for." For some students an academic college education is not always appropriate so there must be avenues for them to choose less academic and more practical subjects which will give them the foundation to work in the industry or business of their choice.
IMPROVING EDUCATION
Testing is not going to change anything. Each school publishing their external examination results such as the AP on their websites will. Allowing students greater choice and flexibility of High school and allowing High Schools to develop their own specialties along with reaching out to industries in their area will make a difference.... and you can still have all the sports, and the clubs, and the spirit lines and all those elements which go to make up the High School experience as being fulfilling and fun and educational. Principals with the freedom to choose and hire appropriately skilled teachers for the characteristics of their school would be an added bonus. Robb is right about choice but wrong about the nature of the choice.