STATE HOUSE — Education Secretary James Peyser wrote an op-ed in September laying out the choice the state Board of Education faces in November in choosing between keeping the state's MCAS exam or adopting a new student assessment known as PARCC.
But new research suggests a third option: continuing with the current MCAS exam but setting a higher score threshold in math to ensure that more students are ready for the rigors of college.
Many Massachusetts children return to school this week; others return after Labor Day. At NBP, we believe that there is no more important duty to our children and their future than the work of great teachers and involved parents. And make no mistake, it takes both. Students with parents seriously involved in their education likely will do well.
One of the biggest problems for our schools is that too many parents — sometimes for legitimate reasons — are not involved enough. Schools are not meant to be education factories where we insert children into kindergarten and then wait for an educated teenager to emerge.
