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A more rigorous high school curriculum is paying off in better college entrance scores for state students Michigan's tough, new high school curriculum is passing the test. Scores for state high school students on the Michigan Merit Examination, which includes the ACT, climbed by half a percentage point, meaning students will enter college better prepared. The results, released Thursday by the Michigan Department of Education, show high school students have improved their ACT scores for the third year in a row. The steady improvement, from an average score of 18.8 in 2008 to 19.3 this year, demonstrates the rigorous high school graduation requirements adopted in 2006 are gradually paying off. The champions of the new requirements, including Gov. Jennifer Granholm, state school Superintendent Mike Flanagan, the state school board and Legislature, should be commended for ignoring the opposition from some teachers, parents and school officials and doing the right thing for kids. A college education is increasingly integral to preparing Michigan students for the future job market. And the higher scores bode well for improved student readiness in the college classroom. Martin Ackley, director of communications at the Department of Education, says the scores prove the new requirements really work and that "all kids can learn." He also says the higher scores are a tribute to teachers who have implemented the new standards, and to parents who supported the greater work load. The high school juniors who took the merit exam this spring are the first students to complete the course work. The graduation requirements include four credits each of math and English language arts and three credits each of science and social studies. Sharif Shakrani, professor of measurement and quantitative methods at Michigan State University, says the improved exam scores in reading -- from 60 percent scoring at the proficient or advanced level last year to 65 percent this year -- are significant. "It's a step in the right direction," he says. But Shakrani remains concerned with the math scores, which were only at 50 percent. With half of Michigan's juniors not scoring at a proficient or advanced level, these students will have a more difficult time in college as math is key to success in higher education, he says. "Math at the 11th-grade level is very important," says Shakrani, an expert in assessment and testing. Writing scores -- 44 percent this year -- are also in need of improvement. Shakrani says although scores seem to be moving upward at a "snail's pace," he thinks schools are getting more serious and paying more attention to implementing the tougher curriculum. Despite the progress, improvement is still necessary. The national average for ACT scores is 21. But Michigan students are headed in the right direction. The test results should convince those school districts that have been slow to fully implement the curriculum or have attempted to water it down that the new curriculum works. |
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