Common Core scores provide lessons

The following editorial from the Yakima Herald-Republic does not necessarily reflect the view of The Spokesman-Review’s editorial board.

The good news is that Washington state grade-schoolers rate well in their performance on Common Core-based tests compared with students from other states. The bad news, or at best indifferent news, is no one knows exactly how well 11th-graders rate because of different ways in which the states implement the tests.

That pretty much takes the “Common” out of Common Core and defeats one of its purposes.

A refresher: Common Core is not a federal government mandate, but a state-by-state effort to develop standards of what every student should know; 45 states have signed on to Common Core. One of the ways to assess student learning is the Smarter Balanced tests, in which Washington state grade-school students stood out.

A couple of examples: Washington students in grades three through eight had the highest passing rate among 14 states, except for the seventh-graders, who were second. Similar results were found in English/language arts, where state students ranked second, except for the fourth grade, where they came out on top.

But it was different in the 11th grade. There, the state ranked near the bottom of 15 states – education officials say not having the tests as a graduation requirement likely skewed the results. Also among the variables are different levels of low-income, special-needs or English-learning students from state to state.

Comparing scores by state isn’t simply a matter of competition to see which students rank the highest – and which states can boast bragging rights. A state that enjoys outsized success may be doing something that others could emulate and raise the bar for everyone else; on the flip side, an underperforming state would get notice to change how it is doing things.

Also, one of the key goals is to offer consistency for students moving from one state to another – of special interest in all areas of this state. Yakima Valley districts see large numbers of families drawn to agricultural work, and the booming technology hubs of Western Washington are attracting a huge influx of workers – in large part because this state’s universities aren’t producing enough qualified graduates to meet the need.

Given the states’ apples-oranges comparisons, one path forward for Washington is to compare its own results year-by-year – or decade-to-decade, if the states stick with Common Core that long – to evaluate whether students are increasing their mastery of the material.

That appears to be the best we can hope for unless or until the states agree on some common ground for Common Core.