Achieve, Inc., The Education Trust, and The Thomas B. Fordham Foundation
February 2004
This new report is a joint product of Achieve, Inc., The Education Trust, and Fordham. Two years in the making, it offers the functional equivalent of voluntary national standards in English and math that 12th graders should attain by the time they graduate, and says these standards should serve as benchmarks for state exit exams, for college entrance and placement decisions, AND for employers seeking workers who are truly qualified for today's demanding jobs. It contends that most of today's high-school graduates aren't really prepared for the "real world" of 2004 even if they've completed their state's graduation requirements and passed the exit exams. It deplores the gap between what the K-12 system requires for exit and what the postsecondary system and job market require for successful entry. And it sets forth numerous policy actions to solve these and related problems. Released this week, it can be found on the web at http://www.achieve.org/achieve.nsf/StandardForm3?openform&parentunid=F4D77F181E14ED7485256DB90062DBF1.
"Diploma called 'a broken promise,'" Washington Times, February 10, 2004,
"Study says U.S. should replace states' high school standards," by Karen W. Arenson, New York Times, February 10, 2004, (registration required)
