College-readiness test yet another challenge for Florida students

[SheilaT]

4. My very first question about all of these tests is to ask

if they've actually been verified and validated. Meaning, do they actually test what they claim to test, and are the results meaningful?

I suspect that in all cases the answer is no.

We have long had good tests already in place that have been used in the past to measure student performance. New ones are unneeded.

As for testing for college readiness, what do they need besides the SAT or the ACT? Again, tests that are already out there and do a pretty good job of predicting how students will do in first year of college.

It is true that students graduating high school ill-prepared to go to college or enter the work force is a problem that has long been with us. In 1979 I worked the phone-in registration at a junior college in the Washington DC area, and I was amazed at how many kids calling in to register were registering for remedial English and math. It's not fair to pin the blame for this sort of thing on just one cause. It's not just bad teachers or bad parents, but an entire system that rewards young people for not doing well in school. For making sports far more important than academics. Even many middle class parents themselves don't seem to push academic success as much as they should, and I'm speaking from what I've observed around me. Even so, I'll be the first person to say it's nuts to think that all people need a four-year college degree. Our community colleges are possibly the very best thing about our entire school system in this country. They offer wonderful programs that lead directly to jobs, and many more people should consider them.