Standardized Testing is Best Measure of Success

By BILL SIART and ROBERT J. FLOWERS

The recent annual release of statewide STAR test results (Standardized Testing and Reporting) provides a good opportunity to evaluate how our public schools and students are doing, and also serves as a good reminder of the important standards-based education reforms currently underway to improve California schools.

Improving public schools has long been a priority of the business community. There is no question that better schools and better-educated students translate into better employees and a stronger economy and business climate.

But as many of us in the business and education communities spent years working to implement creative means of improving schools, an obvious reality emerged: How can we know if schools and students are doing better without first having a clear understanding of what we want them to know? Similarly, how can we compare one school’s progress to another if we do not have an across-the-board means of assessing progress?

This recognition translated into a collaborative effort among business leaders, parents, teachers and elected officials in the 1990s to adopt a series of reforms to improve our public schools through the basic notion of increased standards and accountability.

The standards-based reforms underway are based on proven steps for success in any organization or business: set clear goals, measure progress to make sure goals are met and establish accountability for outcomes. The package of reforms includes:

– Establishment of statewide learning standards. California now has clear learning requirements for what students statewide should know and be able to do in every grade in the core subjects of Math, Science, English, Social Science and the Arts.

– Development of a state testing system. In order to provide a consistent and objective measurement for student and school progress, kids in grades two through 11 are now given the annual STAR test. STAR is actually two tests. The first component is the California Standards Test, which measures how well students are doing in meeting the statewide academic standards in Math, Science, English and History. STAR also includes a norm-reference section, currently called the Standford-9 or SAT-9. This test provides a measurement of how California students and schools compare to their peers across the country.

– Instituting a system of accountability for results. California’s new accountability standards hold educators, schools and districts directly responsible for the job of teaching kids. Key to the school accountability package is the public reporting of STAR results.

With learning standards now in place, teachers, parents and educators have a clear measurement of where students should be every step along the way and the ability to identify schools and students in need of extra help in mastering core subject areas.

The real success story is that California now has in place high learning standards and a foundation for measuring our progress.

Bill Siart is chair of California Business for Education Excellence Foundation and Chairman of Excellent Education Development. Robert J. Flowers is president, Community Investment & Development of Washington Mutual and vice chairman of California Business for Education Excellence Foundation.