9 states united on test, standards for high school math
The effort by Pa., N.J. and 7 others is believed to be a possible step to national education guidelines.
WASHINGTON - Nine states - including Pennsylvania and New Jersey - 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.
State standards, and tests based on them, vary wildly for subjects as basic as math, English and science.
This group of states has decided to share a test and standards for Algebra II, saying a subject like that should not vary across state lines.
The other states are Arkansas, Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Ohio and Rhode Island.
The states are still trying to figure out which students will be given the test in the short term, but eventually the test will likely be given to all students who take Algebra II.
All 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, according to Mike Cohen, president of Achieve Inc., a Washington-based nonprofit that is helping design the standards.
Students typically take Algebra II in high school after taking a basic algebra course and geometry. Research has shown that students who complete Algebra II are much more likely to go on to earn a college degree. That has prompted more and more states to require the course for graduation for most of their students.
Cohen led a failed effort in the Clinton administration to develop national standards in a variety of subjects. But he said this was different, since it was a grass-roots effort rather than one being forced on states from Washington.
"Viewed as a pilot, it is a big deal and, I hope, an important precedent," said Chester Finn, a former assistant education secretary who runs the Fordham Foundation think tank in Washington. "You'd have to be joking to claim that Algebra II in Columbus, Ohio, means something different from Algebra II in Columbia, Mo."
Finn's group has evaluated state standards and found that they were considerably different.
The issue has gained attention since the passage of the federal 2002 No Child Left Behind law, which requires states to administer math and reading tests in grades three through eight and once in high school. The law says all children should be proficient, or generally working on grade level, by 2014.
Many more students are able to achieve proficiency on the state tests than on national math and reading tests - prompting many critics to say the states are setting their standards too low.
State tests are used in the No Child Left Behind law, which tempts states to find ways to lower their standards, says Bruce Fuller, a professor of education and public policy at the University of California at Berkeley. The law penalizes schools that don't make adequate progress, creating an incentive for states to show they are doing well.