As most already know, Massachusetts is consistently ranked first in the NAEP test and has been improving each year. How? While there are many nuanced reasons, many which haven’t been fully studied, there are a number of reasons I feel we can confidently point to.
Strength of Testing and Curriculum
We may have many complaints about the MCAS, but as anyone who has taken a comprehensive look at standardized tests from the other 49 states knows, ours does a better job than most (I would say better than the rest) in clearly assessing the actual knowledge our students are expected to acquire at their given grades. Connecing to this idea is Ravtiche’s strong assertion that a well written curriculum is key to improving our schools. In her book, Ravitch points to the strength of our state’s curriculm framework as a measuring stick for all other states to follow. Ravitch insists that a strong, well-written curriculum is an oft-overlooked but integral part of having a strong education system. In all subjects, from art to science, teachers plan their year’s lessons based on these frameworks, and in many states these hallow and vague frameworks leave their teachers in the dark about what to actually teach. Massachusetts does not suffer from this problem.
High Expectations
While there is not enough data to confidently say that strong teacher unions equal strong educational systems, the unionized teachers in this state maintain high expectations for themselves and their profession. These union members are not the caricatures that some reformers would like them to be. Whether it be the employment requirements for all teachers in MA or the recent moves by MTA to embrace certain aspects of reform Mass teachers are dedicated to their profession and their duty to educate our children.
We Treat Education as a High Priority
though we could do more
Every politician in every state talks about how important it is to make education a priority. In Massachusetts, we do more than talk. According to this report by the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, Massachusetts ranks high in spending per pupil. The state’s cost-adjusted per-pupil spending level of $14,060 exceeds the national average by over $1,800, or roughly 15 percent. We rank 11th in this regard, which in my mind is a testament to our priorities. It’s no surprise that many of the states that rank low in the NAEP also rank low in spending per pupil.
It is surprising, however, to learn the following:
Massachusetts ranks high in per-pupil spending but ranks low in total education spending as a percentage of the state economy. As an affluent state, Massachusetts has a greater capacity to invest in education than lower income states. The state’s high per-pupil ranking reflects these greater resources, even when correcting for higher costs. (Massachusetts also ranks high on educational outcomes as reflected in National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) standardized test scores, often leading the nation.) However, when viewed as a share of the state’s total ability to fund education-the total size of the economy-Massachusetts ranks lower than many less affluent states.
Massachusetts continues to rank low in state funding as a percentage of the total economy, although this percentage increased steadily during the mid to late 1990s.
In addition, the report states that
even with the growth in education spending as a share Massachusetts’s economy over the past 15 years, the state continues to lag behind the national average. According to the most recent US Census data, on average education makes up 4.90 percent of a state’s economy, almost 13 percent more than in Massachusetts
Personally I look at this information from the MBPC and see only potential. If we already rank number 1 in education while lagging behind most of America in spending as a share of our economy and as a percentage of personal income, think of where we could be if we improved in these areas.
Additional Ramblings
Our nation’s public education ranks nowhere near the top when compared with education systems in other industrialized nations. No news there, just thought I’d remind everyone.
The percentage of our commonwealth’s best and brightest are nowhere near the top when compared those of many other nations, although these comparisons still make me proud of MA. For example:
-In math scores, while we may lag significantly behind Taiwan, Hong Kong and Korea, we are very close to Germany and Austria and rank ahead of France, the U.K., Israel, Sweden, Norway, Ireland and Spain.
-Mississippi’s math scores, on the other hand, have more in common with the educational systems of Serbia, Thailand, Romania and Azerbaijan.
-Today’s Washington Post has a piece by Linda Darling Hammond that, in addition to Ms. Ravitches book, got me thinking about all of this today. Take the time and read through it.
Having trouble making a hyperlink for the Post article, so here it is: http://www.washingtonpost.com/…
Thanks for the review of her book, I think she has found a way to approach the subject that is not locked into the old ways of thinking and the old power struggles.
<
p>One thing I was impressed with in the schools is the heavy approach to content and the avoidance of abstract critical thinking on the humanities side of the curriculum.
her thinking, which took about 30 years to reverse. I thought her book was good for the reporting it does concerning New York City and San Diego.
<
p>I’ve been reading Linda Darling-Hammond’s book The Flat World and Education. It’s not hard to read, but it’s dense. She stresses the fact that implementing testing without the necessary investment will not have good effects. She praise MA for its investing and testing, though we have evidently cut back on the investing. She also says NC did a good job. CA is the ugly step-child as state regulations have gotten more demanding and funding has dropped dramatically.
<
p>Although Darling-Hammond says CT has a no-stakes state test, I’d like to no more. I’m skeptical that kids would take MCAS seriously without some stakes.
that can reverse itself based on present evidence. Ravitch and Darling-Hammond are both excellent thinkers and the fact that Ravitch has changed her mind because she has not stopped thinking about the issues doesn’t make her any less a credible source than Darling-Hammond who has essentially stayed the course throughout the years.
changed her position on testing shows that she has continued to think about it and accept new and different input. Too often, debates, such as we have here, only serve to reinforce and harden existing beliefs.
Ravitch’s thoughts stand on their own merit or not, regardless of her biography. We agree on that. Her credibility isn’t an issue; I think her reporting is generally fine. Her book is decent, but it’s a rehash of what others have said time and again.
<
p>Ravitch may date her conversion to NCLB, but “present evidence” goes back a lot farther. More importantly, the arguments against testing have been around a lot longer. Plenty of us knew what was going to happen long before it happened (Ravitch didn’t).
<
p>At the end of the book, her recommendations are either unoriginal or vague. She doesn’t say anything that hasn’t been said by plenty of people for years. I’m glad she’s saying it and people are reading it. I’m happy that she switched sides, but she isn’t much of a thinker.
<
p>
<
p>When controlled for economic status, the United States public education system is a world-beater. Fact is, our middle-class and upper-class kids do better than anyone. What happens, though, is that we are comparing American children, many of whom live or below a poverty level, with children in Finland or Singapore, who don’t. It is the decision of those countries to attack poverty in a meaningful way and help their citizens that buoys their scores, not any type of magic formula or “reform”.
But can you provide a link or some source for that claim. On some earlier post somebody made a comment that said that if Massachusetts was a country it would, when compared to the rest of the world, rank somewhere in the top 5. I spent hours trying to find some study or article making that claim.
From a DOE press release:
<
p>
I wasn’t trying to hate, just really wanted to find it but didn’t know the specifics enough to effectively search for it. Going to hold onto this.
specifics. That’s commendable.
Sorry not to provide backup…was in a rush at the moment. Thanks for asking for it. From the most updated international test scores, the 2009 PISA study via the Post:
<
p>
<
p>American children aren’t lazy or stupid or ill-taught. They’re poor.
fascinating.
The late, great Jerry Bracey was one of my favorite researcher/writers on this subject. Valerie Strauss had a good piece citing his analysis in this blog post from December. She quotes Bracey:
<
p>
<
p>For those interested in similar myth-busting, evidence-based analysis, read Richard Rothstein on why Bill Gates got most or all of his facts wrong talking about the supposed flat lining of U.S. student achievement, here.
<
p>Once you read that, you’ll no doubt want to come hear him live at the CPS annual meeting, Thursday, April 14. For more info and to register, go here.
I suppose we could stop resources on english language learners by making sure that there aren’t any english language learners. That would probably improve the numbers as well.
were never a real problem — though the math frameworks are drill heavy, because Sandra Stotsky prefers students who perform rather than think–and, in general those frameworks are pretty good.
<
p>The problem is that MCAS doesn’t adequately or “comprehensively” measure much of the curriculum, or “learning” as we should think of it. Teachers and educationists have analyzed the MCAS to death at this point, using Test Whiz and other programs and methods, to determine what is tested and what is not. Entire parts of the Curriculum Frameworks are not “standardized test-friendly” and simply don’t show up much on MCAS; and teachers have learned to avoid those parts…as they should when the test results are all that count. And believe me, test results are all that counts.
<
p>Why look at the article above, suggesting Massachusetts is “number one” based on the results of a single test, NAEP. Does NAEP measure learning? Does it compare “apple to apple” curricula across states.
<
p>If Massachusetts has, in general, good schools (and I believe they still do), multiple measures should be used to make such a statement; the entire curriculum should be checked out; and the narrowing of the curriculum due to the testing mania should be somehow figured in.
<
p>Remember, as a key part of his test for Eton, Churchill had to pass a section on the British Empire. Being a kid he studied ONLY New Zealand, so goes the story, and the test was on…New Zealand. Begging the question, if the entire curriculum had been studied…or tested, would we have lost the Second World War? It begs other questions, too; but let’s stop here.
At the Exam of Gallipoli. Fortunately, life is more forgiving of mistakes than the MCAS.
You say the curriculum frameworks have never been a problem. You may be right about MA, but you need to check out some of the other states (try MS or AR)to get a grasp on how confusing and vague frameworks can be. I agree with Ravitch in her assertion that a key component of MA’s educational achievements have been anchored by well written curricula.
<
p>Additionaly, I did not merely mean the ELA and Math frameworks. Massachusetts has well written Social Studies and History curricula, which although are not tested are important in developing a well-rounded student capable of being an effective and critically thinking citizen. I’m not as familiar with the other frameworks outside of math, ela, and social studies, but I’ve heard good things about them.
<
p>I’m opposed to high stakes testing, especially when it comes to evaluating teacher effectiveness. Growing up in Massachusetts, I was in the first class of sophomores that had to pass the MCAS to get a diploma (I hope we all remember the controversy surrounding that). I remember some classmates getting extremely nervous when they had to take the exam a second or third time including my best friend who was only diagnosed with dyslexia later in life. That experience, combined with the simple fact that the entirety of one’s education cannot come close to being measured by a two subject test, has caused me to be against high stakes testing for the students as well.
<
p>If it’s a question, however, of how we’re to determine if our children are learning, effective testing can be a key component in that answer. The MCAS is far from perfect but, and I tried to be clear in the initial post, its better than most if not all other tests.
<
p>Regarding the NAEP:
<
p>This test of reading, writing, math and science is widely regarded as a highly useful measuring tool for gauging the effectivness of schools nationwide. The Nation’s Report Card does not report on individual students or even individual schools. What it does is break down scores by states, gender, ethnicity, race, etc. and allows educators and policy makers to get a solid grasp on the state of our education. It’s not perfect but is an accepted tool for the task.
“Additionaly, I did not merely mean the ELA and Math frameworks. Massachusetts has well written Social Studies and History curricula, which although are not tested are important in developing a well-rounded student capable of being an effective and critically thinking citizen. I’m not as familiar with the other frameworks outside of math, ela, and social studies, but I’ve heard good things about them.” Irish Fury
<
p>is that the other curricula besides math and ELA are much more likely to be completely explored precisely because they are not tested. Once they are tested, you find out what parts are tested and you spend all your time on those parts…as you SHOULD if all you care about is the test—and all we care about is the test.
<
p>And I was obviously talking about the MA curriculum frameworks. It is likely, though I have not seen a study about it, that our frameworks aligns better with the test given (NAEP, TIMMS, or other), or that those tests mimic MCAS more closely than other states, and, hence, our kids fare better on that test.
<
p>In general terms, the overreliance on tests is the point I make. Tests are not determinative…at least in education.
As a teacher who has been told multiple times to stop reading novels and only stick to test passages, who’s been reprimanded for trying out a writing unit instead of just focusing of grammar drills, I am living through the stupidity of teaching to the test.