WORCESTER, Mass.
Massachusetts educators need to set higher standards for curriculum, assessment and accountability to ensure that students who graduate from high schools are better prepared for college or careers, the state's incoming education commissioner said Monday.
Mitchell Chester, who is set to formally take office May 19, said Massachusetts educators have done a lot of things right to help ensure the rates of graduation are one of the highest in the nation.
But the state's first school-to-college report recently showed a disproportionate number of minority students and those from poor families either failed to perform well or needed remedial courses once they are in college.
``We still have too many students graduating from high school who are not ready to take on college-level work, are not ready for a career, and so we need to improve the quality of high-school experience so that all students -- not just some students -- are experiencing an education that, in fact, prepares them for success after high school,'' Chester said in an interview before a special meeting with the state Board of Education where he presented his vision for the state's education system before its regular meeting on Tuesday. He didn't propose specific policy initiatives.
Chester said education testing, including MCAS, may be one of the building blocks for a system of high-quality curriculum and instruction, but it is not enough by itself to assess the performance of schools, districts and students in the state.
He suggested schools might want to incorporate a system that encourages expert thinking, including well-understood relationships, initiative and skill at pattern recognition instead of memorized facts.
``I think that it's essential that we measure how students learn how to read and do math ... It's essential, but not sufficient,'' Chester said. ``As a parent of children, I wanna know whether my children are learning the fundamental skills -- the reading, the writing, the history, the science -- at grade level expectations because that's what is going to prepare them for success as they move up the grades.''
