Massachusetts Outscores Other States on Education Effectiveness
CHAMBER
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
Priyanka Dayal
Boston University Washington News Service
Feb. 28, 2007
WASHINGTON, Feb. 28 – Massachusetts scored the highest in a state-by-state report on educational effectiveness released Wednesday, earning A’s in seven of nine grading categories.
The report, produced by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in association with a pair of Washington think tanks, showed a grimmer national picture, with inconsistencies across states in how effectively they spend their education dollars, how honestly they report the results of their students and how prepared high school graduates are for college and the workforce. Dozens of states scored C’s and D’s on categories like rigor of academic standards and quality of data about student performance.
“This is a matter of critical, national urgency,” said Thomas J. Donohue, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “What’s at stake is the continued vitality of the American dream for every one of our children.”
The report said Massachusetts ranks 15 percent higher than the national average in the percentage of eighth graders at or above proficient reading and math levels. It commended the state for spending education dollars effectively and for setting rigorous curriculum standards for English, math and science.
It cited the Bay State as a leader in ensuring that students pass Advanced Placement exams and go on to enroll in college. The report also praised the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System, which students must pass to graduate high school.
“There’s a long way to go even if you’re at the head of the class,” Mr. Donohue said. “This is a long-term, uphill struggle.”
The Center for American Progress, a progressive think-tank that is often at odds with the business community, partnered with the chamber on the education report, as did the conservative American Enterprise Institute.
John D. Podesta, president and CEO of the Center for American Progress and former chief of staff to President Clinton, said in states like Massachusetts governors have played a key role in raising standards of education. He said he hopes high scores will put pressure on governors to maintain these high standards.
“Our school year is organized for the late 19th century economy, not the 21st,” Mr. Podesta said, explaining that schools should consider instituting longer school days and after-school programs.
The report did not call for national standards, but did pressure states to overhaul their education systems and encouraged the business community to participate.
Despite its overall high score, Massachusetts received a C grade for not giving schools and principals enough freedom and flexibility to hire teachers, design new schools and use technology to improve performance.
Chamber of Commerce leaders said many states have a long way to go improve data so parents can see how their children are performing and why they are performing that way.
They also said teachers who are ineffective or impede the progress of students in any way should find new work.
At a Feb. 15 conference of the National Governors Association in Washington, Stafford N. Peat, administrator for secondary and school support at the Massachusetts Department of Education, told the Telegram & Gazette that Massachusetts is working to improve and expand data that will “draw the links between how students’ high school education shapes their performance in college.”
The Chamber of Commerce’s report is based on data from the National Assessment of Education Progress, a test administered to fourth- and eighth-graders nationwide.
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