EdVANTAGE Blog

Today’s New York Daily News continues its criticisms of state assessments, reporting that recent high school graduates complain that focusing on passing Regents exams left them unprepared for college.

The article also quotes Regent Saul Cohen, who chairs the Regents task force overseeing efforts to update state learning standards, a project the Council called for in its 2007, “Education is Civil Right” agenda.

Regent Cohen said, “We could be doing a lot better” and added,”The complaints we get from higher ed people over and over [are that] most youngsters are not well-prepared for college – unless, of course, they’ve taken APs or international baccalaureates.”

State Education Department spokesman Tom Dunn said, “The Regents have committed to doing whatever it takes to meet the President’s standard for college readiness.  This will include a thorough review of the learning standards, the core curricula and the state assessments.”