Five long years ago, West Virginia and more than 40 other states adopted the Common Core standards in reading and math, setting dramatically higher expectations for students in elementary and secondary schools. Now we've reached a critical milestone in this effort.
Mountain State parents just received for the first time their children's scores on new tests aligned to the standards, and taxpayers got a look at results statewide. The news was sobering.
Only about a quarter of middle school children are on track in math, and less than half are proficient in reading. The results were even worse for high school students. Though the scores may come as a shock to many, let us explain why parents and taxpayers shouldn't shoot the messenger.
First it's important to remember why so many states started down this path in the first place. Under federal law, every state must test children every year in grades three through eight and once in high school to ensure they are making progress. That's a good idea. Parents deserve to know if their kids are learning, and taxpayers are entitled to know if the money we spend on schools is being used wisely.
But it is left to states to define what it means to be "proficient" in math and reading. Unfortunately, most states, including West Virginia, set a very low bar. They "juked the stats."
The result was a comforting illusion that most West Virginia children were on track to succeed in college, carve out satisfying careers, and stand on their own two feet. To put it plainly, it was a lie. Imagine being told year after year that you're doing just fine, only to find out when you apply for college or a job, that you're simply not as prepared as you need to be.
Such experiences were not isolated cases. Every year, 70 percent of West Virginia's community college students must take "remedial" courses when they arrive on campus. Many of those students will leave without a degree, or any kind of credential. That's a lousy way to start one's life.
The most important step to fixing this problem is to stop lying to ourselves - and to parents - and ensure our children are ready for the next grade, and when they turn 18, for college or work. Several national studies, including analyses of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), show that just 35 to 40 percent of high school graduates leave our education system at the "college prepared" level. Considering that 20 percent of our children don't even make it to graduation day, that means that maybe a third of our kids nationally are getting to that college-ready mark. (Not coincidentally, about a third of young people today complete a four-year college degree.)
The Common Core should help to boost college readiness - and college completion - by significantly raising expectations, starting in kindergarten. But we shouldn't be surprised that West Virginia found that far less than half of its students are "on track" for college. In fact, that's what we should expect. Mountain State parents, in other words, are finally learning the truth.
This is a big shift, and a painful one, from the Lake Wobegon days, when, like in Garrison Keillor's fictional town, all the children were above average. But parents and taxpayers should resist the siren song of those who want to use this moment of truth to attack the Common Core or the associated tests. They may not be perfect, but they are finally giving parents, educators, and taxpayers a much more honest assessment of how our children are doing - a standard that promises to end the lies and games with statistics. Virtually all kids aspire to go to college and prepare for a satisfying career. Now, at last, we know if they're on track to do so.
Michael J. Petrilli and Robert Pondiscio are president and vice president, respectively, of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute and fathers of school-aged children.