Pennsylvania is not known for generating great amounts of funding for education. The state’s… Pennsylvania is not known for generating great amounts of funding for education. The state’s reputation with regard to its schools is actually quite poor, but it gives the schools money, and it is interested in studying how well that money is spent.

Enter the state assessment tests – high school juniors take them every year, and they are intended to reflect the quality of education those students receive. But so far, the tests have only offered a reflection upon themselves – they don’t work.

Scores for the tests are divided into four groups: advanced, proficient, basic and below basic. Students must be able to show proficiency in math, writing and reading to graduate, but they are not currently required to pass the respective sections on the assessment tests.

More than 123,000 students took the Pennsylvania System of Schools Assessment tests during their junior year, and of that number, 51 percent received a grade of “basic” or “below basic” on the math section, 42 percent of students scored below the level of proficiency in reading and 30 percent scored low in writing.

If you went to high school in Pennsylvania, you probably remember the assessment tests and the perks that came with them – three days without classes, pizza to keep you happy and the assurance from classmates that a bad score will not damage your future. Unless you went to one of the few schools that actually requires its students to pass the tests to graduate, you probably didn’t show up with a thinking cap in tow.

But if you did go to one of those schools, it is possible that you were short-changed in your education. Making proficiency marks on the tests a requirement for graduation forces students to work hard and give it their all, but it also leads teachers to teach with the specific aim of preparing students for the test.

A compromise can be reached in the form of incentives. Students will perform well on tests if they are offered some sort of reward. Schools could get students interested in doing well by offering scholarships to those who score high. Students would also be more interested in making the grade if they received a detailed account of their results after taking the test.

Putting graduation on the line has its problems, and so does allowing students to fail without repercussions. The solution to this problem lies in motivation – students will do well when they are given reason to, and the state will benefit as a result.