Eighth-grade reading scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress went up in West Virginia by three points, a statistically significant change. Hurrah! Everyone must work hard to make this a trend and not a blip. It's tempting to point to the new Common Core-aligned standards for an explanation, but it is too soon to say.
Nevertheless, even if all the scores had fallen, we would still say stick with those tougher new standards and give teachers and students a chance to rise to them.
In math, alas, eighth grade scores dropped between 2013 and 2015. Fourth grade scores did not change enough to be statistically significant. Reading edged up a point. Math went down a point.
West Virginia was pretty well braced for the possibility that all scores might sag for a year or so as teachers, principals and students implement new standards. While the eighth-grade math drop is troubling, the steady fourth-grade scores when standards and curricula are in a period of change is reassuring.
Earlier this year, West Virginia students took the new state test aligned with their new standards. While scores were generally low, they were better than projections that accounted for an exam that was both new and tougher than the previous one.
So, it is too soon to pass judgment on the effectiveness of new Common Core-aligned standards, but overall, early indications are promising. In addition, hopping around from this set of standards or that, year after year, would be counter-productive. Every change, even a good one, costs something to make, not only in money, but also in time and human energy. This cost is unavoidably paid by individual students who populate classrooms while the change is underway. They should not be required to weather unnecessary or foolhardy changes
West Virginia must walk in one direction long enough to get somewhere.