States Lower Test Standards for a High School Diploma

New York Times ^ | January 11, 2010 | Ian Urbina

[reaganaut1]

A law adopting statewide high school exams for graduation took effect in Pennsylvania on Saturday, with the goal of ensuring that students leaving high school are prepared for college and the workplace. But critics say the requirement has been so watered down that it is unlikely to have major impact.

The situation in Pennsylvania mirrors what has happened in many of the 26 states that have adopted high school exit exams. As deadlines approached for schools to start making passage of the exams a requirement for graduation, and practice tests indicated that large numbers of students would fail, many states softened standards, delayed the requirement or added alternative paths to a diploma.

People who have studied the exams, which affect two-thirds of the nation’s public school students, say they often fall short of officials’ ambitious goals.

“The real pattern in states has been that the standards are lowered so much that the exams end up not benefiting students who pass them while still hurting the students who fail them,” said John Robert Warren, an expert on exit exams and a professor of sociology at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.

“The exams are just challenging enough to reduce the graduation rate,” Professor Warren added, “but not challenging enough to have measurable consequences for how much students learn or for how prepared they are for life after high school.”

In 2008, state officials in Alabama, Arizona and Washington delayed the start of the exit exam requirement and lowered standards after seeing that many students, including a disproportionate number of minorities, would fail the tests.

Many states have faced lawsuits over the proposed requirements amid accusations that the tests are unfair to students with disabilities, non-native speakers of English and students attending schools with fewer educational resources.

[equalitybeforethelaw]

Well this is certainly “progressive”. America, where all the kids are above average.

[denydenydeny]

The goal: All Children Left Behind.

[Hotmetal]

“GOLDSBORO, N.C. - A middle school in North Carolina is selling test scores to students in a bid to raise money.

The News & Observer of Raleigh reported Wednesday that a parent advisory council at Rosewood Middle School in Goldsboro come up with the fundraising plan after last year’s chocolate sale flopped.

The school will sell 20 test points to students for $20.”

“Students can add 10 extra points to each of two tests of their choice. The extra points could take a student from a “B” to an “A” on those tests or from a failing grade to a passing grade.”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33854822...ews-weird_news
They are talking about doing this in Mississippi also.

[Senator John Blutarski]

Well said, wintertime. I hope that your church ministers will focus some efforts to deal with this important problem.

Here’s my suggestion for arousing awareness among the parents of the students being so callously betrayed by our “education” bureaucracy. It’ll cost a bit of money, though. Form a civic committee and send letters to the parents of every 9th grade student in the district, offering to pay them 100 dollars in cash for every child of theirs who can successfully solve three problems of algebra and geometry that should have been taught at that grade level. When their children fail, send an apologetic follow-up letter and inform them that, because of the complete disregard of the public school bureaucracy for the proper education of their children, this is the sort of lost opportunity that their kids should expect for the rest of their lives.

See what the reaction is.

[wintertime]

Well said, wintertime. I hope that your church ministers will focus some efforts to deal with this important problem.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I think your $100 bill idea is a good idea.

I had a personal interview with one of the regional leaders of our church. It turns out that he had been a school board member for 8 years. Essentially, he blew me off. It was the usual:

1) The parents don’t care. ( These parents **DO** care a **LOT**! The proof is that they bring them to tutoring every week. )

2) The kids can’t speak English. ( These kids speak perfect English and have since their Head Start days.)

3) Broken homes. ( These all come from two parent homes with dedicated parents.)

4) Behavior problems. ( These kids are extremely well behaved and very polite and nice children.)

In other words he blamed the kids and parents.

One of the problems with the government schools in counties like mine is that there is an entrenched education-industrial complex. Our school district is the single largest employer in the county. It’s payroll is by far the largest in the county. No other business in the county comes close. Therefore....When it comes to either eliminating, reducing, or in away reforming the government schools there is tremendous resistance to this. Too many people are feeding at the government school pig trough.

[Senator John Blutarski]

wintertime wrote: “One of the problems with the government schools in counties like mine is that there is an entrenched education-industrial complex. Our school district is the single largest employer in the county. It’s payroll is by far the largest in the county. No other business in the county comes close. Therefore....When it comes to either eliminating, reducing, or in away reforming the government schools there is tremendous resistance to this. Too many people are feeding at the government school pig trough.”

..... Similar situation here in MA. Teacher’s union members get hired into the school bureaucracies and also run for school committee positions. The entire teachers’ contract negotiation ultimately becomes a rigged game.

I remember the early days of the teachers’ union here in MA, when every strike was billed as an action reluctantly taken “for the children”. I wonder what their latest slogan is.

[handy old one]

Public education will end itself if left to it’s self. But it will drag the rest of the country with it whether we like it or not. So the best way to beat it is cause it to upgrade by competition of other options like private schools and home schooling.

[okie01]

So the best way to beat it is cause it to upgrade by competition of other options like private schools and home schooling.

And with a return to neighborhood schools.

Blow up the system. It's the only way.

[okie01]

Plus, people can be very successful in the trade occupations and not have 4 years of loans to pay back.

Especially when a 4-year college education doesn't teach you anything useful.

[handy old one]

Can I push the lever???