Revisiting the Honesty Gap Post-Pandemic
OVERCOMING THE GAP
Parents deserve the truth. Historically, states have exaggerated the percent of students who are proficient – as demonstrated by the huge gaps that have existed between state NAEP scores and what states report as their proficiency rate. Thankfully, over the past two years, many states have worked to close these “Honesty Gaps” and provide parents with more truthful information. We are proud to report that many states have made significant progress towards this end.
We are on the right road to fixing this problem. Today, many states have taken the steps needed to address the Honesty Gap – mainly, the adoption of rigorous, comparable standards and high-quality assessments that give parents real information. And this year’s results show that it’s working.
We can’t go backwards. Opponents of Common Core and high quality tests want to take states and the country backward. Yet they offer no alternative plan to ensuring that parents have the right information and that we are graduating kids that are prepared for success in life. Standards and assessments may not be popular terms – but opponents owe parents a plan for ensuring student success without them.
There is lots of blame to go around. Parents should not simply blame schools for the Honesty Gap – politicians have played a huge part in creating it. Both elected officials and some in the education establishment have not had the political courage to be honest and forthright with parents. And our kids have been the collateral damage.
Want to learn more? Check out the Honesty Gap Fact Sheet.