Source: NPR
According the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) administered by the US Department of Education, about 60 percent of high school students who receive their high school diplomas do not pass the standardized test, which is a relatively accurate assessor for college “readiness.”
The standardized test is relied upon as an accurate assessor of students’ knowledge because unlike state tests, it has been consistent across the past decades and also does not have “consequences” for students, which means they take the test without preparation from teachers, unlike the SAT or CST.
The test is taken by students across the nation from both public and private high schools as an effort to portray an accurate assessment. The issue with the low results of students passing as “college ready” (rated on a four-tier scale from“below average” and “basic” to “proficient” and “advanced”) is that while only 40 percent pass the NAEP, there is a nationwide graduation rate of approximately 82 percent. This means several students graduate high school without really being prepared to take on higher education in math and reading.
Optimists suggest that students graduate at higher rates because receiving a diploma encapsulate mores qualities than in math and reading alone. Others suggest standards for graduation are low compared to NAEP’s college-ready assessment.
Read full story at: NPR