National standards accompanied by national assessments are the only way to go. My fear? Even if Obama/Duncan in their re-authorization get these included, states like Maryland will roll over and play dead for the kids who for some reason can’t make it. They’ll allow them to hand in a report or a project to “demonstrate” proficiency in mathematics and ELA rather than deprive a youngste their high school diploma.

The reason for our success here in Massachusetts (to this point anyway) has been the insistence that education is important and that a high school diploma is not a privilege, that it must be earned and will no longer be given away. While some will insist our state standards combined with MCAS have done the trick, they were merely what set the stage for our success. In fact, the state’s unrelenting adherence to the notion that every child is capable of learning in school has been the reason Massachusetts has once again been the trendsetter in public education.

Early on, numerous camps called into question ed reform and the direction Massachusetts was taking. Two mayors in particular come to mind. They were going to allow their high schools to award diplomas to all seniors regardless of whether they passed MCAS or not. The Commissioner of Education at the time, David Driscoll, rallied the Governor and state legislature to enact legislation which stated if any city or town were to take this action their school superintendent and their high school would immediately loose state accreditation. Guess what? Both mayors backed down and have not been heard from since. As well, passing MCAS is still a requirement for earning a high school diploma in Massachusetts.