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20% of Seniors Flunk High School Graduation Exam (100,000 California seniors)
LA Times ^ | October 1, 2005 | Duke Helfand,

Posted on 10/02/2005 1:13:34 PM PDT by Names Ash Housewares

Nearly 100,000 California 12th graders — or about 20% of this year's senior class — have failed the state's graduation exam, potentially jeopardizing their chances of earning diplomas, according to the most definitive report on the mandatory test, released Friday.

Students in the class of 2006, the first group to face the graduation requirement, must pass both the English and math sections of the test by June.

(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...


TOPICS: Extended News; US: California
KEYWORDS: graduation; hseducation; kalifornia; publicschools; testing
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California public education. Truly a miserable failure. Of course throwing more money at it will solve the problems, we ALL know that dont we. God help Arnold.
1 posted on 10/02/2005 1:13:37 PM PDT by Names Ash Housewares
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To: Names Ash Housewares
"Clearly, we need to have some options for these students," said Lauress L. Wise, the firm's president, in a telephone interview with reporters.

Clearly, they need to repeat 12th grade. They they will retest and repeat the curriculum until they are competent to move on. It wasn't that long ago when I was in 12th grade--the requirements aren't exactly strict to graduate. It's pure laziness on the students' parts.

2 posted on 10/02/2005 1:17:13 PM PDT by Future Snake Eater (The plan was simple, like my brother-in-law Phil. But unlike Phil, this plan just might work.)
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Comment #3 Removed by Moderator

To: Names Ash Housewares
From the article:

The exit exam — which has come under criticism by some educators, legislators and civil rights advocates — is geared to an eighth-grade level in math and to ninth- and 10th-grade levels in English.
WTF,O?? These are supposedly seniors who haven't learned lower grade skills? How the heck can they be in 12th grade when they haven't even learned 8th grade math? Never mind - that was a rhetorical question; we wouldn't want to hurt their self-esteem by flunking them.
4 posted on 10/02/2005 1:19:50 PM PDT by Bob
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To: Names Ash Housewares
or about 20% of this year's senior class — have failed the state's graduation exam because they are illegal aliens who don't speak English . . .
5 posted on 10/02/2005 1:20:16 PM PDT by teenyelliott (Soylent green should be made outta liberals...)
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To: route695
"Why is public education in India, Japan, South Korea, and even China better than ours? Is it a cultural issue?"
Yes. The students in those lands do not have "rights", but an OBLIGATION - to study. Everything else follows.
6 posted on 10/02/2005 1:22:41 PM PDT by GSlob
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To: Bob
My daughter passed the exit exam last year (sophomore) and said it was "embarrassingly easy".
7 posted on 10/02/2005 1:24:07 PM PDT by steveo (Member: Fathers Against Rude Television)
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To: Names Ash Housewares

63% of African Americans and 68% of Latinos in the class of 2006 have passed both parts of the exam.

Buy HEY - you don't need NO college degree - unless you want to move to India or China...


8 posted on 10/02/2005 1:24:57 PM PDT by traumer
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To: Names Ash Housewares

Well thats 100,000 more Democrat voters. Way to go Liberals just the way you like it. They will follow like sheep as long as we can get them on the welfare rolls.


9 posted on 10/02/2005 1:25:02 PM PDT by gunnedah
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To: Names Ash Housewares

No problem. Just keep making the test easier until they all pass.

Maybe we should send the flunkers to China or India.


10 posted on 10/02/2005 1:26:37 PM PDT by Right Wing Assault ("..this administration is planning a 'Right Wing Assault' on values and ideals.." - John Kerry)
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To: Names Ash Housewares

From the headline, thought they were talking about old people. Wondered what it was we was graduatin from.


11 posted on 10/02/2005 1:26:54 PM PDT by Racehorse (Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.)
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To: Names Ash Housewares

Problem: LOW STANDARDS


12 posted on 10/02/2005 1:27:34 PM PDT by starfish923 (It's never right to do wrong. Socrates)
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To: Future Snake Eater
Clearly, we need to have some options for these students.

Yeah, two options: start working OR we'll kick your 4$$e$ into the desert and you can wander around there for a few years until you get serious.

13 posted on 10/02/2005 1:29:04 PM PDT by Right Wing Assault ("..this administration is planning a 'Right Wing Assault' on values and ideals.." - John Kerry)
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To: route695

One of the factors may be population pressures in fairly homogenous populations.

Where so many are competing for better jobs, then schools and tests are used to screen the school population for the best candidates for the college slots that make them eligible for the better paying or less tedious jobs.

The parents push, because the fortunes of the family depend on the kids, not on the state.


14 posted on 10/02/2005 1:29:43 PM PDT by patriciaruth (They are all Mike Spanns)
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To: Names Ash Housewares
These 20% failure statistics don't mean a thing. When I was in the nuclear field in the Navy we always had about 30% of the people fail the exams. This was as designed. If only 20% of the people failed the exams, they would be rewritten because they were too easy. If 40% failed, they would be rewritten because they were hard. Any exam needs a failure rate, otherwise it is an ineffective examination.

If only 10% fail next year, we will know that the exam is too easy and that the students can adapt too fast to it (because I highly doubt the education system will suddenly become significantly more effective in one years time). If 30% fail, the exam might be too hard. The useful thing about these exams is that if people fail, you can make their lives miserable. Therefore they want to pass. If you keep the failure rate constant, achievement will continue to increase because you will have to make the exam tougher each year to compensate for the motivation of the students.
15 posted on 10/02/2005 1:29:45 PM PDT by burzum (Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people.-Adm H Rickover)
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To: Names Ash Housewares

Send them on to college and graduate them from there as well.

In WI we just send them to our technical schools where they
sit around and disrupt those classes just like they did in
high school..

Eventually they either get jobs or go to prison...or both


16 posted on 10/02/2005 1:30:03 PM PDT by joesnuffy
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To: Names Ash Housewares

I'm curious as to what percentage of these failed 20% are the children of illegal aliens, and are illegal aliens themselves.

Because the figure seems relatively interesting given the huge number of the many millions IN CALIFORNIA alone who are illegal aliens.

Unless remedied in the schools by various means, failing students do drag down already marginal ones. And CA's teachers too often (I could be wrong but this is what it appears, with apologies to sincerely applying teachers) interested in the politics of teaching and not in the actual work itself, unless it services the politics of teaching.

Our CA culture is a mess. Far too many people here, far too much foreign interest and little to no interests outside these areas other than fun and games.

I noticed a drastic change in University of California arriving students' behaviors this year, and it began with last year: far more drinking at night, more noise and carousing during school weeks, a lot more littering and even graffitti appearing. Up until last year, the neighborhood (near a U.C. campus) was studious, with only weekend car and foot traffic increasing, the usual drinking bouts here and there, with parties, etc., but this last year it's been remarkably more degenerate in nature, far louder, more destructive, far much more loud drinking and yelling and such from student-age people, and that's during a school year. Pretty depressing loss of self control emerging.

A week or so ago, whatever that day was for the "Mexican independence day" or whatever it was, was the first time I've ever found empty beer bottles littering the sidewalk nearby -- and they were all Mexican beer bottles, at that. Just thrown all over the sidewalk and out into the street, and guys down the block fighting in the street late at night. And this is a conservative area. Imagine what it's now like in the rest of CA.


17 posted on 10/02/2005 1:30:13 PM PDT by BIRDS
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To: Names Ash Housewares

Their future in five words......."Ya want fries with that?"


18 posted on 10/02/2005 1:30:22 PM PDT by Normal4me
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To: Names Ash Housewares
This is what happens when you leave Leftists and Unions in charge of education. You wind up with illegals saturating the system; enforced mediocrity that ultimately degrades to incompetency; and nothing but emphasis on "feelings" rather than reality.

More money isn't going to solve this mess. The whole thing needs to be swept out and replaced by teachers who focus exclusively on forcing English first (not Spanish, not Ebonics, or any other bullcrap) and the Three R's. Anything less is a disservice to the people we're supposed to be preparing for the real world.

19 posted on 10/02/2005 1:30:46 PM PDT by Prime Choice (E=mc^3. Don't drink and derive.)
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To: burzum
These 20% failure statistics don't mean a thing.

Bull. Give the same test to Iowa high school seniors and I can all but guarantee less than a 5% failure rate.

California schools are a joke. I've seen kids come to Iowa boasting straight A's in California schools and they get a real shock when they learn their "grade A" work gets them a "D" in Iowa public schools.

20 posted on 10/02/2005 1:33:00 PM PDT by Prime Choice (E=mc^3. Don't drink and derive.)
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