[junta]

The scientific theory of “Enviromental Materialism” is sinking faster than the Bismark or Titanic. Basically it is defended by libs and conservatives with some skin in the game (meaning their source of income) and wacked out crazy libs on the cusp of emotional and mental breakdowns over the hard facts of reality closing in on them.

[RobinOfKingston]

It is becoming more apparent with each passing day that the rebuilding will not begin until the entire structure has collapsed. Life will be hard for a while, but there will be plenty of raw materials lying around.

[svcw]

Ok, aren't the minimum scores an F under normal circumstances?

How is the test discriminatory? When my daughter took the test it was all multiple chose and T/F.

She passed the test in the 10th grade, first year given and asked the principal if that was all she needed to do to graduate she wanted her diploma so she could go right on to college.

[SWAMPSNIPER]

These kids don’t do well on the tests because their education is only a veneer, memorized, but not incorporated.

[PGR88]

Then stop asking Race on the test.

[Terabitten]

test bias

You can stop reading right there. Tests cannot be biased, although the teacher can. Test bias is a complete oxymoron. The student either knows the material or they do not.

It is possible for the grader to be biased on certain types of tests (essay tests, for instance) but in a multiple choice or fill-in-the-blank test, as standardized tests typically are, bias is impossible. The student either knows the material or they do not. If they do not, they fail. If they do, they pass. It's pretty simple.

[AEMILIUS PAULUS]

Biology is destiny.

[reaganaut1]

There are large differences in average academic achievement between whites and Asians and blacks and Hispanics, and high school exit exams (HSEE) will reflect this. Although HSEE are not biased just because they do not produce equal results, I am wary of using them to deny high school diplomas, because where do you draw the line? I think many employers of high school graduates want someone who follows the rules and gets to work on time, even if they don’t know algebra (which is tested on the California HSEE). I say use an HSEE (along with the SAT and high school grades) to determine admission to 4-year public colleges and for some 2-year programs, but not for a diploma. On high school transcripts, list the scores for the various subjects, and let employers decide how they want to use that information.

It is not good for the U.S. that the proportion of educationally underperforming minorities is growing, but we need to be realistic in dealing with it and not pretend that everyone can be made ready for college if we just apply enough pressure.

[VanShuyten]

"Of students in the bottom quartile on earlier standardized tests, 5 percent of the girls and 10 percent of the minority students had scored high enough to expect they would pass the exit exam. Yet they did not ."

I read a great journal article several years ago that showed what every teacher already knew - poorer students think they are better than they really are, and therefore are disappointed more often when they receive an appropriate score that reflects their true ability. These students then try to shift the blame for their scores to someone or something else.

Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing One’s Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments Journal of Personality and Social Psychology Selected Article © 1999 by the American Psychological Association For personal use only—not for distribution December 1999 Vol. 77, No. 6, 1121-1134 Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing One’s Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments; Justin Kruger and David Dunning; Department of Psychology; Cornell University

[heleny]

“stereotype threat.” According to this theory, high-stakes tests such as the exit exam particularly stress minorities and girls because they fear the results will “confirm negative stereotypes about the academic skills of their group.” If told, for instance, that a test measures intelligence or asked to write their race, ethnicity and gender on the answer sheet, low-achieving girls and minorities underperform, but similarly low-achieving whites and boys do not.

Two easy solutions:
1. don't ask for race, ethnicity, or gender.
or
2. ask those questions _after_ the students complete the tests.