“Senior state education leaders are considering expanding the state MCAS exams to include science experiments, group projects and oral presentations in an attempt to inject more critical thinking into the widely criticized tests. The recommendations, which were unveiled yesterday, respond to growing concerns that the state’s high school graduates are entering college or the workplace lacking the sophisticated skills needed to succeed, such as the ability to solve problems, communicate or work in teams. The state originally emphasized these ’21st Century skills’ after passage of the 1993 Education Reform Act, but many schools stopped teaching them as the state ramped up the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System, which placed a higher premium on content knowledge.” [editor’s note: Having been among those who have “scored” some of the prior MCAS tests, I can only hope their group-approach is better! - SAT] (11/19/08)