5.10.22
“Comparing Type #1 vs. Type #2 Education Standards”
By Henry W. Burke
How do you compare the effectiveness of Type #1 vs. Type #2 State Education Standards? You could use a national test (the ACT Test) to show the differences in academic achievement levels. The 2021 ACT Test results will serve as the “yardstick” to judge the effectiveness of each education type.
There are only two types of education – Type #1 and Type #2. They cannot be mixed, just as oil and water cannot be mixed. Type #1 is fact-based, academic, and traditional. Type #2 is subjective; and it emphasizes feelings, emotions, and opinions. (Refer to Table 1 in the IMPORTANT APPENDIX TABLES at the end of this article.)
To illustrate this concept, consider two states (Texas and Nebraska). Texas has very strong Type #1 State Standards, while Nebraska has very weak Type #2 State Standards. The Texas Standards are known as Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS for short). Because the same “yardstick” (ACT tests) is being used for both Nebraska and Texas, the comparison is valid and quite revealing.
The ACT uses this method to determine if students are College Ready. The ACT website explains:
The ACT reports College Readiness Benchmark Scores – A benchmark score is the minimum score needed on the ACT subject-area test to indicate a 50% chance of obtaining a B or higher or about a 75% chance of obtaining a C or higher in the corresponding credit-bearing college courses, which include English Composition, Algebra, Social Science, Biology, STEM and ELA. These scores were empirically derived based on the actual performance of students in college.
Table 2 (Appendix) shows the ACT College Readiness Benchmarks for the 2021 Test.
Before the effectiveness of the two education types can be determined, the variables must be considered. When comparing states, it is very important to consider two very important variables – the percentage of students tested and the minority percentages.
The ACT recognizes the importance of the percentages of students tested. The ACT report states:
The best practice is to compare states where the same or similar percentages of graduates were tested (e.g., Alabama 100% and Mississippi 100%, or Arizona 35% and Florida 34%).
Table 3 (in the Appendix) lists all of the states by their Composite Score rank. Additionally, the Percent of Graduates Tested is listed in the fourth column. Table 3 shows a strong correlation between Test Scores and the percentage of graduates taking the ACT Tests. Most of the states near the top of the rankings have very low percentages. For example, the top five states (Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, New York, and California) have percentages in the single digits (4 % – 9 %). At the lower end of the rankings, four of the bottom six states (Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Nevada) have percentages at 98 % – 100 %.
Clearly, people must be careful when comparing states with vastly different percentages of graduates taking the ACT Tests. For example, it is foolish to compare Nebraska’s Rank of 34 with Massachusetts’ No. 1 Rank. Nebraska tested 86 % of the high school graduates, while Massachusetts tested only 7 %! This illustrates the classic “Apples and Oranges” comparison.
How do the 51 states compare on the most recent 2021 ACT Tests? Table 4 (in Appendix) lists the 51 states (50 states plus the District of Columbia) on the 2021 ACT Test. In the Table, the states are ranked by their Average Composite Scores, with the highest scores listed first.
How about the other variable of minority percentages? Race and ethnicity clearly affect the test results.
Because minority groups often come from language-impoverished homes, they do not score very well on the various tests. Accordingly, there is a strong correlation between high minority percentages and low test scores. African Americans (Blacks) typically score lower on the national tests. In Hispanic households, English is often the second language. Hence, many states offer English as a Second Language (ESL) courses.
Minority Percentages are not available for the 2021 ACT Tests. Accordingly, 2017 data is provided in Table 5 (Appendix).
Nebraska has 17 % minority students (4 % + 13 % = 17 %).
Texas has 51 % minority students (10 % + 41 % = 51 %).
The National group has 30 % minority students (13 % + 17 % = 30 %).
Texas has three times the percentage of minorities as Nebraska and 1.7 times the percentage of minorities as the National picture. Accordingly, a person would expect Texas to have much lower test scores than Nebraska.
How do Nebraska and Texas compare on the 2021 ACT Tests? Table 3 and Table 4 (Appendix) show that Nebraska and Texas have essentially identical ACT Test scores. The Average Composite Score is 20.0 for Nebraska and 20.1 for Texas. Likewise, the Test Scores for the four subjects are basically the same. Admittedly, a much smaller percentage of Texas graduates took the 2021 ACT Test than in Nebraska (23 % in Texas vs. 86 % in Nebraska). Even though the Texas percentage tested is smaller than Nebraska, the sample size is large with 146,608 Texas students being tested on the ACT.
What conclusion can be drawn from this comparison? In spite of Texas having three times the number of minorities as Nebraska, Texas barely edged out Nebraska.
Is there a way to explain why Texas and Nebraska have almost identical ACT Test Scores?
The explanation is rather clear. Texas has very good Type #1 State Education Standards (fact-based, academic, and traditional). Whereas, Nebraska has mediocre Type #2 State Standards (subjective; emphasizes feelings, emotions, and opinions). Obviously, the superior Texas State Standards are making a real difference!
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IMPORTANT APPENDIX TABLES
Table 1 – Chart: Comparison of Two Types of Education
Table 2 – 2021 ACT College Readiness Benchmark Scores
Table 3 – 2021 ACT Average Composite Scores for All States
Table 4 – 2021 ACT Percent of Graduates Meeting Benchmarks for All States
Table 5 – Minority Percentages for Nebraska, Texas, and National
Table 1 -- Chart: Comparison of Two Types of Education
TYPE #1 (FACT-BASED, ACADEMIC, TRADITIONAL) vs.
TYPE #2 (SUBJECTIVE, FEELINGS, EMOTIONS, OPINIONS)
TYPE #1 -- | TYPE #2 -- | |
---|---|---|
DESCRIPTION | (FACT-BASED, ACADEMIC, TRADITIONAL) | (SUBJECTIVE, FEELINGS, EMOTIONS, OPINIONS) CSCOPE LITE (TEXAS) OBAMA’S COMMON CORE STANDARDS Progressive, Radical Social Justice Agenda |
INSTRUCTION | Direct Instruction by teacher | Self-directed learning, group think
EMPHASIS ON: Subjectivity, feelings, emotions, beliefs, multiculturalism, political correctness, social engineering, globalism, evolution, sexual freedom, contraceptives, environmental extremism, global warming and radical climate change, victimization, diversity, acceptance of LGBTQ as normal, redistribution of wealth DE-EMPHASIS ON: Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, U. S. and State Constitutions, national sovereignty, Founding Fathers, American exceptionalism |
CURRICULUM | Academic, fact-based skills, research | Social concerns, project-based, constructivism, portfolios, collaboration, subjective, use of unproven fads and theories |
TEACHER’S ROLE | Authority figure in the classroom, sets the plan for the class, academic instruction | Facilitator in the classroom |
STUDENT’S ROLE | Learn from teacher; focus on factual learning; develop foundational skills for logical and analytical reasoning; independent thinking | Students teach each other; decide what they want to do for the day; focus on feelings/emotions/opinions; group-think |
ENGLISH/ LANGUAGE ARTS/READING (ELAR) | Phonics; classical literature; cursive handwriting; grammar; usage; correct spelling; expository, persuasive, narrative, descriptive writing; research writing; emphasis on standard pronouns | Whole language, balanced literacy, Guided Reading, no cursive writing instruction so unable to read primary documents of Founding Fathers, emphasis on non-standard LGBTQ pronouns |
MATHEMATICS | “Drill and Skill,” four math functions learned to automaticity | Fuzzy math, Common Core process standards, rejects drill and memorization of math facts, dependent on calculators, correct answer not important |
SOCIAL STUDIES | Focus on American heritage and exceptionalism, national sovereignty, Founding documents, appreciation for sacrifices made by America’s forefathers, equality under God | Critical Race Theory (CRT); diversity; multiculturalism; globalization; revisionist history; political correctness; portrays America as an evil country; White privilege/Black bondage; equity based upon race, ethnicity, and/or gender identity |
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT | Pro-faith, self-control, personal responsibility, self-discipline, sexual abstinence before marriage, solid work ethic, moving toward achieving tenacity | Secular, moral relativism, sexual relations before marriage, sexual perversion, anti-faith, victimization |
EQUALITY | Equal opportunities through hard work | Expecting equal outcomes regardless of personal effort |
ASSESSMENT | Students evaluated by grades earned, emphasis on objective tests with right-or-wrong answers based upon observable and/or measurable facts | Inflated grades, subjective assessments, evaluated based upon subjective value system of grader, group grades |
OUTCOMES | Objective tests (right-or-wrong answers), emphasis on academic skills and knowledge | Subjective assessments; emphasis on holistic, “feel-good” scoring |
Original chart produced by Donna Garner on 9.1.13; revised by Carole H. Haynes on 11.04.13; updated by Donna Garner and Henry W. Burke on 4.27.22
https://www.educationviews.org/2-types-of-education-america-hangs-in-the-balance/
Table 2 – 2021 ACT College Readiness Benchmark Scores
College Course/Course Area | ACT Score | Benchmark Score |
---|---|---|
English Composition | English | 18 |
Algebra | Mathematics | 22 |
Social Sciences | Reading | 22 |
Biology | Science | 23 |
STEM | STEM | 26 |
ELA | ELA | 20 |
Source:
Average ACT Scores by State -- Graduating Class of 2021
https://www.act.org/content/dam/act/unsecured/documents/2021/2021-Average-ACT-Scores-by-State.pdf
Table 3 – 2021 ACT Average Composite Scores for All States
(Ranked by Average Composite Scores)
State | Rank | Average Composite Score | Percent Graduates Tested |
---|---|---|---|
National | -- | 20.3 | 35 |
Massachusetts | 1 | 27.6 | 7 |
Connecticut | 2 | 27.2 | 9 |
New Hampshire | 3 | 26.6 | 4 |
New York | 4 | 26.3 | 9 |
California | 5 | 26.1 | 5 |
Rhode Island | 6 | 25.8 | 4 |
Delaware | 7 | 25.7 | 5 |
District of Columbia | 8 | 25.6 | 19 |
Maine | 9 | 25.6 | 2 |
Maryland | 10 | 25.5 | 8 |
Virginia | 11 | 25.5 | 9 |
Illinois | 12 | 25.2 | 19 |
Michigan | 13 | 25.1 | 9 |
New Jersey | 14 | 25.1 | 12 |
Pennsylvania | 15 | 25.0 | 7 |
Vermont | 16 | 24.7 | 4 |
Washington | 17 | 23.6 | 7 |
Colorado | 18 | 23.6 | 16 |
Indiana | 19 | 23.1 | 14 |
Idaho | 20 | 23.0 | 16 |
Georgia | 21 | 22.6 | 24 |
Minnesota | 22 | 21.6 | 60 |
South Dakota | 23 | 21.6 | 55 |
Iowa | 24 | 21.5 | 47 |
West Virginia | 25 | 20.8 | 30 |
New Mexico | 26 | 20.7 | 23 |
Alaska | 27 | 20.6 | 16 |
Missouri | 28 | 20.6 | 63 |
Oregon | 29 | 20.6 | 20 |
Utah | 30 | 20.6 | 86 |
Florida | 31 | 20.4 | 34 |
Montana | 32 | 20.4 | 70 |
Texas | 33 | 20.1 | 23 |
Nebraska | 34 | 20.0 | 86 |
Wisconsin | 35 | 20.0 | 96 |
Kansas | 36 | 19.9 | 79 |
Arizona | 37 | 19.8 | 35 |
Wyoming | 38 | 19.8 | 19 |
Oklahoma | 39 | 19.7 | 58 |
North Dakota | 40 | 19.6 | 100 |
Ohio | 41 | 19.6 | 85 |
Kentucky | 42 | 19.2 | 100 |
Tennessee | 43 | 19.1 | 100 |
Arkansas | 44 | 19.0 | 99 |
North Carolina | 45 | 18.9 | 92 |
Alabama | 46 | 18.7 | 100 |
South Carolina | 47 | 18.6 | 50 |
Louisiana | 48 | 18.4 | 98 |
Hawaii | 49 | 18.2 | 67 |
Mississippi | 50 | 18.1 | 100 |
Nevada | 51 | 17.8 | 100 |
Source:
Average ACT Scores by State -- Graduating Class of 2021
https://www.act.org/content/dam/act/unsecured/documents/2021/2021-Average-ACT-Scores-by-State.pdf
Table 4 – 2021 ACT Percent of Graduates Meeting Benchmarks for All States
(Ranked by Average Composite Scores)
Rank | State | Average Composite Score | English | Reading | Math | Science |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
-- | National | 20.3 | 56 | 44 | 36 | 35 |
1 | Massachusetts | 27.6 | 92 | 83 | 81 | 79 |
2 | Connecticut | 27.2 | 92 | 82 | 78 | 76 |
3 | New Hampshire | 26.6 | 89 | 77 | 75 | 71 |
4 | New York | 26.3 | 88 | 77 | 76 | 73 |
5 | California | 26.1 | 84 | 74 | 72 | 68 |
6 | Rhode Island | 25.8 | 89 | 79 | 70 | 67 |
7 | Delaware | 25.7 | 86 | 76 | 66 | 68 |
8 | District of Columbia | 25.6 | 76 | 70 | 66 | 66 |
9 | Maine | 25.6 | 87 | 77 | 72 | 69 |
10 | Maryland | 25.5 | 86 | 74 | 67 | 65 |
11 | Virginia | 25.5 | 86 | 75 | 68 | 67 |
12 | Illinois | 25.2 | 88 | 72 | 68 | 67 |
13 | Michigan | 25.1 | 87 | 72 | 68 | 65 |
14 | New Jersey | 25.1 | 83 | 70 | 67 | 62 |
15 | Pennsylvania | 25.0 | 84 | 73 | 67 | 64 |
16 | Vermont | 24.7 | 83 | 77 | 62 | 66 |
17 | Washington | 23.6 | 70 | 62 | 57 | 55 |
18 | Colorado | 23.6 | 78 | 64 | 59 | 56 |
19 | Indiana | 23.1 | 74 | 62 | 57 | 52 |
20 | Idaho | 23.0 | 75 | 61 | 53 | 51 |
21 | Georgia | 22.6 | 72 | 58 | 50 | 48 |
22 | Minnesota | 21.6 | 61 | 52 | 48 | 45 |
23 | South Dakota | 21.6 | 65 | 52 | 46 | 45 |
24 | Iowa | 21.5 | 64 | 52 | 41 | 44 |
25 | West Virginia | 20.8 | 68 | 49 | 32 | 36 |
26 | New Mexico | 20.7 | 58 | 47 | 36 | 37 |
27 | Alaska | 20.6 | 56 | 47 | 41 | 38 |
28 | Missouri | 20.6 | 59 | 46 | 35 | 36 |
29 | Oregon | 20.6 | 56 | 47 | 38 | 38 |
30 | Utah | 20.6 | 59 | 46 | 38 | 37 |
31 | Florida | 20.4 | 59 | 46 | 34 | 35 |
32 | Montana | 20.4 | 56 | 44 | 36 | 36 |
33 | Texas | 20.1 | 52 | 42 | 35 | 34 |
34 | Nebraska | 20.0 | 55 | 42 | 33 | 35 |
35 | Wisconsin | 20.0 | 55 | 39 | 37 | 36 |
36 | Kansas | 19.9 | 53 | 42 | 32 | 32 |
37 | Arizona | 19.8 | 52 | 41 | 35 | 32 |
38 | Wyoming | 19.8 | 53 | 42 | 32 | 32 |
39 | Oklahoma | 19.7 | 55 | 42 | 26 | 29 |
40 | North Dakota | 19.6 | 51 | 37 | 35 | 32 |
41 | Ohio | 19.6 | 50 | 40 | 33 | 31 |
42 | Kentucky | 19.2 | 51 | 36 | 27 | 26 |
43 | Tennessee | 19.1 | 52 | 36 | 25 | 28 |
44 | Arkansas | 19.0 | 51 | 34 | 23 | 26 |
45 | North Carolina | 18.9 | 43 | 36 | 29 | 27 |
46 | Alabama | 18.7 | 48 | 32 | 21 | 23 |
47 | South Carolina | 18.6 | 43 | 35 | 25 | 26 |
48 | Louisiana | 18.4 | 48 | 31 | 20 | 23 |
49 | Hawaii | 18.2 | 40 | 31 | 22 | 23 |
50 | Mississippi | 18.1 | 43 | 28 | 18 | 19 |
51 | Nevada | 17.8 | 39 | 29 | 20 | 20 |
Source:
Average ACT Scores by State -- Graduating Class of 2021
https://www.act.org/content/dam/act/unsecured/documents/2021/2021-Average-ACT-Scores-by-State.pdf
Table 5 – Minority Percentages for Nebraska, Texas, and National
(2017 ACT)
State | All Students Tested | White Students Tested | Black Students Tested | Hispanic Students Tested | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | Percent | No. | Percent | No. | Percent | No. | Percent | |
Nebraska | 18993 | 100 | 13337 | 70 | 752 | 4 | 2514 | 13 |
Texas | 146608 | 100 | 50119 | 34 | 15021 | 10 | 60142 | 41 |
National | 2030038 | 100 | 1062439 | 52 | 256756 | 13 | 347906 | 17 |
Henry Burke is a Civil Engineer with a B.S.C.E. and M.S.C.E. He has been a Registered Professional Engineer (P.E.) for 37 years and has worked as a Civil Engineer in construction for over 40 years. Mr. Burke had a successful 27-year career with a large construction company. He has written numerous articles on education, engineering, construction, politics, taxes, and the economy.
Henry W. Burke
E-mail: hwburke@cox.net