House Votes to Drop High School Exit Exam-time to stop inundating schools w/standardized tests (NC)

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/news/042403_NW_highschoolexitexams.html ^

[chance33_98]

House Votes to Drop High School Exit Exam

By Scott Mooneyham, AP Writer

An exit exam required that would have been required of North Carolina's high school seniors beginning in 2005 would be dropped under legislation adopted by the state House on Thursday.

The bill, approved in a 75-34 vote, also prohibits state education officials from adding standardized tests unless they are called for by federal law. It now goes to the Senate for consideration.

Rep. Rick Glazier, D-Cumberland, one of the bill's sponsors, said it is time to stop inundating schools, teachers and students with standardized tests.

Students now face 35 standardized tests between the third and 12th grades, he said.

"There is a point at which balance needs to be struck and there is a point at which too much testing doesn't yield the kind of results we seek," Glazier said.

Opponents say state education officials are already working to consolidate tests and that the legislation isn't needed.

It also will result in easing school accountability requirements, they say.

"The message that it sends to taxpayers is that we are stepping back from our commitment to excellence," said Rep. Verla Insko, D-Orange.

In 1999, the state Board of Education adopted the exit exam requirement as part of an effort to end social promotion. It was set to go into effect in 2003, but was delayed two years by the board.

The test was to replace a competency test already required, but which covers reading and math skills at an eighth-grade level. The new test would require learning at an 11th-grade level and covered a broader range of skills.

Last year, state lawmakers began considering proposals to drop the requirement and ordered education officials to study substituting a composite of end-of-course tests already required.

Rep. Joni Bowie, R-Guilford, said standardized testing keeps teachers from teaching the curriculum.

"They think we have reached the limit, that we are saturated with testing," she said.

Some state educators have suggested the test could lead to more dropouts and say thousands of poorly prepared students will fail without more money being pumped into remedial programs.

The superintendents from the state's two largest school systems -- Wake County's Bill McNeal and Charlotte-Mecklenburg's Eric Smith -- urged officials to reconsider the exam last year.

[Tacis]

This, of course, will allow union teachers to go back to screwing off. They'll now be able to teach key subjects like"self-esteem," " fairies are our friends," "guns are evil," "lefties mean well," and "white businessmen hate minorities," instead of those nasty subjects that are only good for preparing kids for life, reading, writing, and computational skills.

[js1138]

Gee, in my (private) high school, we had standardized tests in every subject, every semister. And the teacher's jobs and promotions depended on our performance. I wonder why ublic school teachers are so opposed to them? ;^)

[jimkress]

"They think we have reached the limit, that we are saturated with testing," she said.

Give me a break!

35 standardized tests between the third and 12th grades is about 4 tests PER SCHOOL YEAR! That's about one test every 3 months. In any rational person's mind that is hardly 'saturation'.

The bottom line here is that the teacher's unions and their pet flunkies in the Left are concerned that testing will prove the incompetence of the public school system. They are also afraid that tests will expose the change in schools from places focused on education to places focused on indoctrination.

If educators would educate, rather than indoctrinate, the standardized tests would be no burden. There is no need for educators to 'teach for the tests' if they would stop indoctrinating our children and educate them.

Teaching children how to read, write, add/subtract/divide, etc. automatically prepares them to excel on the eeeviill standardized tests.

[dennisw]

We have the CAT tests in Florida and you should hear the so called teachers squawk and complain. Tuff for them .... we still have the tests. No free ride for dumb asses who happen to have wormed their way into teaching slots.

[fml]

As I understand it these tests are meant to evaluate the teaching skills of the teachers and the districts as well as the students. It's no wonder so many in the teaching field want them done away with. The more students fail the tests the more an indication the teachers are failing the students.

[Zevonismymuse]

This, of course, will allow union teachers to go back to screwing off.

I think getting rid of standardized tests is a good thing. Preparing for and taking these tests rob my children of valuable learning time.

My 15 year old daughter is an honor roll student. She even recieved an "A" in Latin on her last report card. Last Friday she and another 100 students were called to the administration office and chastised for finishing in the lowest third of the STAR Test, which is required for graduation and I assume, additional money for the school. It was sort of an academic pep ralley for dummies. My daughter missed her CP English class to attend.

We plan on requesting a waiver so she will be exempt from taking the test. My daughter is a good student and a nice person and I will not have her missing any more class time so the school can qualify for additional funding. This has nothing at all to do with learning.

[swaimh]

i agree with you. at my old high school, the teachers taught according to what was on the end of course examination. anything that wasn't on the exam was omitted from the course. while i was at my old high school, i felt like i was learning how to take a test instead of learning the material.

it's different at my current school (NC School of Science and Math). we still have exams, but they are set to a much higher level and the teachers make them based on what we were able to cover during the semester, so we won't be surprised if something is on the test that we didn't get to cover.

[Pukka Puck]

A certain sort of folk has a lot of trouble with those standardized tests.

[fml]

If kids to not perform, is it really a reflection on the teacher? By using that logic, you should be able to teach everyone advanced calculus and microbiology, if you had capable enough teachers.
_______________________

If the majority of a class or district fail, yes it is a reflection on the teaching. Capable teachers, teach.

______________________
______________________

The key to school improvement is to accept a higher level of failure and have a cirriculum rigorous enough that standardized tests will be easy for the students who perform.
_____________________

On that we agree. Absolutely.

[Pukka Puck]

"finishing in the lowest third of the STAR Test"

If your daughter really knew her ass from her elbow, this would not have happened. Apparently, the apple does not fall vary from the tree.

[Pukka Puck]

"The key to school improvement is to accept a higher level of failure and have a curriculum rigorous enough that standardized tests will be easy for the students who perform."

I agree completely.

[Pukka Puck]

"Teaching children how to read, write, add/subtract/divide, etc. automatically prepares them to excel on the eeeviill standardized tests."

Yep, that's the bottom line. It is not as though these standardized tests are so difficult that only rocket scientists are able to pass them. One simply has to be able to spell cat, add two plus two, and know how to write a simple sentence.

[jimkress]

One simply has to be able to spell cat, add two plus two, and know how to write a simple sentence.

Shocking! You mean that all the 'teaching' about Sarah has two mommies, why euthanasia is a good idea, techniques of condom application and usage, Gaia worship, and all the other predilections of the Left aren't reflected on these standardized tests? Who are the homophobic, bigoted, racist, eeeviill conservatives that dream up these horrible tests?

/ sarcasm

[HoustonCurmudgeon]

35 standardized tests between the third and 12th grades is about 4 tests PER SCHOOL YEAR! That's about one test every 3 months. In any rational person's mind that is hardly 'saturation'.

I have a good friend who is Social Studies department head at his middle school. Every year their kids rank near the top in standardized test scores in this district. He takes kids to the state history fair every year and every few years they make nationals. He is teacher of the year this year and is well known state wide. His kids have worked on local historical digs, the PT boat at the Nimitz Museum and the Houston Holocaust Museum. This guy is great.

He told me it takes 37 days a year out of his teaching to do what he is required to do for standardized testing. That's just over 20% of the year and that's too damn many days.

[ladylib]

The thing that annoys me about these tests is that for years schools have been fooling around with dubious math and reading curricula, experimenting on the kids, indoctrinating them with a lot of PC crap, and generally wasting precious academic time.

So now these kids have to cram for the tests, giving up their free time (after school, spring and Christmas breaks, Saturdays, and even Sundays in one case I read about). These kids have to pull the fat from the fire so these administrators and teachers can look good, keep their cushy jobs, and property values don't plummet.

I hope they remember how they were screwed over by the powers that be when it comes time to educate their little darlins'. I'd be resentful, that's for damn sure.

[ladylib]

I've heard of teachers in Texas telling parents to pull their kids out and home school them or send them to private school because so much time is wasted on these tests.

I've also heard of students being very resentful about having to stop what they are learning so they can learn HOW to take these tests. Kids spend so much time learning how to test well on state tests, but their SAT scores are in the dumps. They come back to the schools and tell their former teachers that they weren't well prepared for college.

I guess it will all be ironed out some day.

[Old Professer]

the apple does not fall vary from the tree.

Where's a mighty oak when you need one?

[Pukka Puck]

"Where's a mighty oak when you need one?"


Hoisted on my own petard.