Regarding last week's Gadfly piece "Wishing for a Massachusetts miracle?": The rush to college readiness is muddying the original intent of the graduation requirement of the Massachusetts Ed Reform Law. The main intent was to make sure kids who receive a high school diploma have basic skills, and our "basic" level (called "needs improvement") accomplishes that goal. We have never denied that "needs improvement" is at about an eighth-grade level of academic performance. From my perspective, those who score "proficient" on MCAS are closer to being college ready. A great majority of students who score "proficient" do go on to higher education and do not need remediation. There are many, though, who score "proficient" and do need remediation. In these cases, I think, pupils have neglected to take challenging courses in grades 11 and 12. Before I left my position as Commissioner of Education, the state Board adopted a policy that essentially sets "proficient" as the goal, and principals must develop a plan for each kid to reach that level by graduation. Massachusetts will not deny a diploma to those students who just make the "needs improvement" mark, but in reality, scoring less than "proficient" is not good enough if one wishes to pursue higher education.
David P. Driscoll
Former Massachusetts Commissioner of Education
Trustee, Thomas B. Fordham Institute