In the October 11th Gadfly, Michael Petrilli reviews what he calls a "blockbuster" report. Although quite valuable, the report in question falls well short of blockbuster status. Its main virtue is in providing data on the role of high school seniors' knowledge of mathematics in predicting two outcomes: 1) whether students pursue postsecondary education; and 2) whether they earn a bachelor's degree or an associate's degree or certificate. A related value is the report's demonstration that NAEP's math-proficiency levels are good predictors for these purposes: twelfth graders who demonstrate math knowledge at the advanced and proficient levels are much more likely to attend college and to earn a bachelor's degree than those who reach only the basic level or less.
The report is less than a blockbuster, though, for several interrelated reasons, two of which I'll note. First, it continues the current tendency to assess "success" in college by attendance and graduation rates, i.e., it completely ignores students' academic achievement in higher education. But whether students earn low, average, or high grades in academically challenging curricula in college is very important. All degrees are not equal. Second, the under-representation of blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans among high achievers exists at all social class levels. The report missed a valuable opportunity to look at how NAEP math proficiency levels predict college achievement by SES for each group.
We need reports that robustly address such achievement issues. Even more important, we need education strategy efforts from preschool through higher education that address them, because the under-representation of these groups among high achievers begins early, and we have virtually no empirically demonstrated strategies for addressing them. An education "reform" movement that finally dug in explicitly, systematically, and forcefully from a strategy development and score-keeping standpoint on these achievement issues is long overdue. If the Gadfly reviewers asked what certain reports had to say on such matters, they might hasten the day that such a reform movement begins.
L. Scott Miller
Executive Director, National Task Force on Early Childhood Education for Hispanics
Arizona State University