Test scores are up significantly in Illinois, an article in The Beacon News reported recently. Educators in Illinois should feel good about the improved test scores. But detractors argue that changes in the test between 2005 and 2006 and lower passing requirements on the eighth-grade math tests may have contributed to the improvement. Officials say the changes in the test make it fairer, not easier.

It’s hard to say how much, if any, of the improvement might be linked to changes in the tests. But the results bring up a good point. If we are going to ask every student in every state to pass a high-stakes test, and we are basing eligibility for federal funding on those test scores, perhaps we should consider national testing standards.