Nine states have agreed to share an end-of-course assessment for Algebra 2, officials from Achieve, the education policy group that worked with the states to develop the test, planned to announce this week.
Officials of the Washington-based organization said Ohio has procured an exam on behalf of the group of states鈥攚hich also includes Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island鈥攆rom Pearson Educational Management, an assessment company based in Iowa City, Iowa. The collaboration is by far the largest of its kind, and it comes as some policymakers and educators appear to be rekindling the push for national academic standards. (鈥淧anel Report Is Latest Rx for NCLB,鈥� Feb. 21, 2007.)
鈥淭his is indicative of states鈥� willingness to come together in setting requirements for students,鈥� Michael Cohen, the president of Achieve, said of the venture. Several other states also have expressed interest in joining the coalition and purchasing tests from Pearson, he said, which will be possible under the company鈥檚 contract.
The cost was unavailable last week.
鈥淚 think what we鈥檙e developing here will be the forerunner for a much larger buy-in from other states,鈥� said Gene Wilhoit, the executive director of the Washington-based Council of Chief State School Officers, who worked on the test as the commissioner of education in Kentucky. He predicts that more states will begin using it a year or two after the exam is first administered.
According to Achieve, the tests should be ready for implementation next spring, although not all nine states will start using it right away. Mr. Cohen was not sure which states would be the first to use the tests.
The only other such test-sharing agreement is among four New England states鈥擬aine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont鈥攖o write standards and assessments for grades 3-8 as required under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
In 2005, Achieve launched the American Diploma Project, a coalition鈥攏ow made up of 29 states鈥攃ommitted to raising high school standards, strengthening curricula and assessments, and better aligning high school expectations with the demands of postsecondary education and work. Because studies have shown that students are more successful in college and work if they have taken Algebra 2, one of the diploma project鈥檚 goals has been to add the course to the list of high school graduation requirements and ensure the course is sufficiently challenging by devising an end-of-course exam for the subject.
鈥淚f it鈥檚 just a course name, there鈥檚 a danger the course will get watered down,鈥� Mr. Cohen said, explaining states鈥� desire to craft and administer a rigorous exam.
鈥楻eality Check鈥�
While states likely will not require students to earn a specific score on the Algebra 2 test to receive a diploma, he said, the scores will probably be used by institutions of higher education to determine which students need to enroll in remedial classes and which can take credit-bearing courses. Mr. Cohen doubts that colleges will use the test to determine which level of credit-bearing math a student should take.
He noted that the scores could influence a student鈥檚 grade and could be used by high school teachers interested in monitoring student progress. And if the test is taken before a student鈥檚 senior year, a poor score would highlight the areas the student needs to work on before going to college.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a reality check to see if they鈥檙e ready for college work,鈥� said Stanley G. Jones, Indiana鈥檚 commissioner of higher education. In Algebra 2 at the high school level, he said, 鈥渟tudents may get an A or B, but that doesn鈥檛 always mean they鈥檙e ready [for college-level courses].鈥�
