I applaud Arizona lawmakers for trying to get to the heart of the matter, when it comes to what it takes to keep U.S. students competitive in a global economy.
Last week, State Rep. Rich Crandall, a Republican from Mesa, and State. Rep. David Lujan, a Democrat from Phoenix, proposed a bill that would replace the Arizona Instrustment to Measure Standards or AIMS, with college readinessness as the major determinant of whether a school adequately prepared a student for the future.
Crandall argued that the standardized test high school students must pass in order to graduate is based on 10th-grade questions, hence you have a snapshot of what a student can do at the 10th-grade level but not beyond.
And what Arizona students have been able to do after graduation hasn’t been too impressive, according to a new study by the Arizona Community Foundation. The College Readiness Report tracked 2006 high school graduates from Maricopa County who enrolled directly into the community college or one of the state’s universities.
Researchers found that about half of the students needed remedial math instruction and about a quarter needed back-to-basics help in English. All of the students had passed the AIMS test, finished their coursework, and earned a diploma.
The report’s findings is what drove Crandall and Lujan to propose a pilot program that would still look at graduation rates and AIMS scores in evaluating a school’s performance, but would rely more heavily on the number of college bound students who had to take remedial classes.
“People really don’t know what the AIMS test measures,” Lujan told the Arizona Republic. “Looking at how many students have to take remedial classes when they get to college, I think that’s a really good indicator.”
Naturally, there will be opponents who argue not all kids go to college, which is true. But shouldn’t all students be prepared for it any way?
Naomi Dillon, Senior Editor
