As a district assessment guy, I get asked about this by the school board and community members pretty frequently. I don't know how WA's graduation pathway scheme compares to alternatives in other places, but we have plenty of other ways for students to demonstrate "proficiency" beyond the state test: https://sbe.wa.gov/our-work/graduation-requirements/graduation-pathway-options.
Certainly WA's pathways are not all equal in academic rigor, and yet they suggest some interesting things about student engagement on the assessments. In this year's senior class, for instance, 80 students did not meet standard on the state assessment but have already passed a dual credit math course and 24 scored high enough on the math sections of the SAT, ACT, or an AP test to meet the requirement. Those options all contain math beyond the state's 10th grade math test, which leaves us wondering if a nontrivial portion of the gap is explained by engagement. There's not much of a carrot on our state tests and no stick.
First, the statistical analysis is eye-opening. Unfortunately, so often in competency discussions, “meet standards” becomes a denotation without meaning. When you write that 11th grade students do not meet the grade-level standards, what does that mean in actual ability? What can these students not do that is being asked of them.
As an English teacher, I feel that too often what is left out of competency discussions is the high level of skills we are asking students to demonstrate -- far more complex than what I am willing to argue most people do not recognize.
Do we have follow-up feedback from employers or higher education/vocational education that these “failing” students cannot do required mathematics in their current roles? I understand that fear, but what does the evidence say?
This sounds like an important issue to address! The gap between graduation rates and math proficiency really highlights some significant challenges in ensuring students are truly ready for what’s next after high school. It’s definitely worth considering what a diploma should actually represent in terms of preparedness for college or a career. I’m curious to see what kind of solutions will come from this discussion.
Every high school teacher and administrator knows there are students who pass classes and graduate who are below proficiency. Rarely acknowledged is the inevitability of it. Does anyone who works in or studies education actually believe it is possible to graduate (for argument’s sake) >75% of students proficient in Algebra? Or reading? Like, if you asked Rick Hess or Diane Ravitch, say, to give you an honest answer based on everything they know about the history of American public schools and reform and policy, etc. would they tell you that it is genuinely possible for the state of Kansas to ensure its high school graduation rate matches student proficiency in a variety of subjects? Even more, is that even what we want or need? Is it even worth it for a state to spend that much money ensuring >75% of its graduates demonstrate proficiency in Algebra? Is there a better use of that tax money? Job training? What is the minimum percentage of literate and numerate Americans needed to have a functioning democracy?
Ha, well, you're asking some tough questions here, especially at the end... But a couple thoughts: 1. I don't think it's unreasonable to expect that the vast majority of kids should be able to pass Algebra. That's not THAT high of a bar. Is it 100%? I dunno, but I think it should be much higher than it is today... 2. This is a big reason I support differentiated diplomas. States should award college-ready diplomas for those who are truly ready, and require colleges to honor those diplomas with no remediation. But they should also have a variety of CTE diplomas and other certificates of completion, and then track outcomes data closely to monitor potential tracking issues and rigor.
Ok this make more sense, I was going to push back on your original piece. These numbers seem fairly consistent with reality. Roughly 1/3 of students go to 4 year colleges and more than 1/3 are proficient so this seems in line. College for all was a failure and students who aren't proficient shouldn't be encouraged to go to 4 year colleges. Having different diplomas is a really good option.
I would love a piece by you making the case for why a majority of non-STEAM-bound students need to demonstrate proficiency in Algebra.
Differentiated diplomas are the future! I’m with you. Not sure how you get there without a little bit of tracking, which needs a major rebrand. Most Americans recoil from the term but embrace the idea behind it.
As a district assessment guy, I get asked about this by the school board and community members pretty frequently. I don't know how WA's graduation pathway scheme compares to alternatives in other places, but we have plenty of other ways for students to demonstrate "proficiency" beyond the state test: https://sbe.wa.gov/our-work/graduation-requirements/graduation-pathway-options.
Certainly WA's pathways are not all equal in academic rigor, and yet they suggest some interesting things about student engagement on the assessments. In this year's senior class, for instance, 80 students did not meet standard on the state assessment but have already passed a dual credit math course and 24 scored high enough on the math sections of the SAT, ACT, or an AP test to meet the requirement. Those options all contain math beyond the state's 10th grade math test, which leaves us wondering if a nontrivial portion of the gap is explained by engagement. There's not much of a carrot on our state tests and no stick.
Thank you for drawing attention to this!
First, the statistical analysis is eye-opening. Unfortunately, so often in competency discussions, “meet standards” becomes a denotation without meaning. When you write that 11th grade students do not meet the grade-level standards, what does that mean in actual ability? What can these students not do that is being asked of them.
As an English teacher, I feel that too often what is left out of competency discussions is the high level of skills we are asking students to demonstrate -- far more complex than what I am willing to argue most people do not recognize.
Do we have follow-up feedback from employers or higher education/vocational education that these “failing” students cannot do required mathematics in their current roles? I understand that fear, but what does the evidence say?
This sounds like an important issue to address! The gap between graduation rates and math proficiency really highlights some significant challenges in ensuring students are truly ready for what’s next after high school. It’s definitely worth considering what a diploma should actually represent in terms of preparedness for college or a career. I’m curious to see what kind of solutions will come from this discussion.
Every high school teacher and administrator knows there are students who pass classes and graduate who are below proficiency. Rarely acknowledged is the inevitability of it. Does anyone who works in or studies education actually believe it is possible to graduate (for argument’s sake) >75% of students proficient in Algebra? Or reading? Like, if you asked Rick Hess or Diane Ravitch, say, to give you an honest answer based on everything they know about the history of American public schools and reform and policy, etc. would they tell you that it is genuinely possible for the state of Kansas to ensure its high school graduation rate matches student proficiency in a variety of subjects? Even more, is that even what we want or need? Is it even worth it for a state to spend that much money ensuring >75% of its graduates demonstrate proficiency in Algebra? Is there a better use of that tax money? Job training? What is the minimum percentage of literate and numerate Americans needed to have a functioning democracy?
Just asking.
Ha, well, you're asking some tough questions here, especially at the end... But a couple thoughts: 1. I don't think it's unreasonable to expect that the vast majority of kids should be able to pass Algebra. That's not THAT high of a bar. Is it 100%? I dunno, but I think it should be much higher than it is today... 2. This is a big reason I support differentiated diplomas. States should award college-ready diplomas for those who are truly ready, and require colleges to honor those diplomas with no remediation. But they should also have a variety of CTE diplomas and other certificates of completion, and then track outcomes data closely to monitor potential tracking issues and rigor.
Ok this make more sense, I was going to push back on your original piece. These numbers seem fairly consistent with reality. Roughly 1/3 of students go to 4 year colleges and more than 1/3 are proficient so this seems in line. College for all was a failure and students who aren't proficient shouldn't be encouraged to go to 4 year colleges. Having different diplomas is a really good option.
I would love a piece by you making the case for why a majority of non-STEAM-bound students need to demonstrate proficiency in Algebra.
Differentiated diplomas are the future! I’m with you. Not sure how you get there without a little bit of tracking, which needs a major rebrand. Most Americans recoil from the term but embrace the idea behind it.
Re your first question, it's not Algebra per se, this study found that an individual's 8th grade math scores were highly predictive of college outcomes: https://www.educationnext.org/predictive-power-standardized-tests-middle-school-scores-preview-college-career-outcomes/
And at the broader societal level, this piece connects 8th grade math scores to adult earnings: https://www.educationnext.org/generation-lost-the-pandemics-lifetime-tax/