Last Monday, Massachusetts announced that 82% of its class of 2003 passed the state's English test and 75% passed the math test. On Wednesday, Achieve, Inc. released an evaluation of the state's standards and tests. The verdict: top marks for the Bay State for developing and implementing high-quality standards and tests that are well aligned with each other. Achieve, a bipartisan nonprofit founded by governors and CEOs to promote school reform, also praised Massachusetts for providing much accessible information to the public about the tests and results, including releasing each year's test questions after the test is taken. As a USA Today editorial pointed out, the state using the nation's highest-regarded test is reaping some of the most impressive gains. This should reassure states whose tests are being greeted with student protests and governors nervous about pending federal test mandates. For more see "Schools Sharpen Testing," USA Today, October 17, 2001 (article may be purchased at http://www.usatoday.com). The Achieve report, Measuring Up: A Report on Education Standards and Assessments for Massachusetts, is available online at http://www.achieve.org/achieve.nsf/Mass_pub.html.
