ACT Scores Dip, But More Students College-Ready

Article from NPR: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129270996&ft=1&f=1001

My take - there has been a lot of talk about testing in education and the role it should play - earlier this week there was a post about the speech discussing keeping your eye on the path you are traveling and not the end goal - I wish we could continue to discuss the idea of educational reform without the constant belief that testing is the be all end all - from the NPR article - "Average scores on the ACT college entrance exam inched downward this year, yet slightly more students who took the test proved to be prepared for college, according to a report released Wednesday. The findings sound contradictory" - In my opinion it should not be contradictory - the ACT is only one measure, a one time test - I have ranted often about how if you went and tested someone one time it will not provide the proper assessment of an individual - if we think about a business - looking at a one hour time frame or a one day sale would not indicate the health of an organization - or in sports there is the Draft Combine - for one day athletes compete in a few standard tests such as the bench press, the 40 yard dash, vertical jump, etc. but if you ask most talent evaluators these do not indicate the best players on the field - you have your Jerry Rice's or Emmitt Smith's etc. - that is why I ask: why would one test score indicate if a student is college ready? We must continue to discuss the role of education and the possible changes that should and need to occur -