LAT: Exit exam leaves 2006 class 42,000 short

[pnwmom]

http://www.latimes.com/news/education/la-me-exitexam2jun02,1,429122.story?coll=la-news-learning

"One in 10 California high school seniors will not receive a diploma this month because they failed the state's high school exit exam, according to data released Thursday by the state Department of Education. Students who are Latino, black, English learners or poor were disproportionately represented in the failure rates.

"State Supt. Jack O'Connell urged the 41,758 seniors across the state who had not passed the exam to continue striving to receive their diploma, in summer school, independent study or community college.

""Their education is simply not complete, but they are still welcome and still part of the public-school family,'he said. 'We will find a place to help them prepare for their future.'"

SNIP

[bluestateguy]

1. This law needs to be adjusted

I think if you have a certain GPA you should be exempt from taking the test. Anybody can have a bad test day. It shouldn't cause you to fail high school. If you've proven yourself with good grades, then I don't think you should have to take the test.

[pnwmom]

2. I agree. If you do well on the coursework, that should be enough.

The irony is that I was reading recently that many students across the nation who fail their "exit exams" simply go on to community college, which will accept them without a diploma.

On the other hand, if they don't get the Associates degree there, they won't have that OR a high school degree.

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

3. I agree too.

[melm00se]

5. adjusting the law

IMHO = lowering standards which does no one any good.

the real question is WHY are these kids not identified much earlier on, why at the last minute? and "remedial-ized" at that point?

could it be that the education system's priorities have shifted from the children to perpetuating the current system and it's keepers?

[depakid]

4. I've seen too many functionally illiterate kids

come out of the LA county school system- so I'm sorry to say- I agree with this in concept:

"Under state legislation approved seven years ago, the class of 2006 is the first that must pass the exam, which tests basic math and language-arts skills, to earn a diploma.

Beginning in their sophomore year, students have six chances to take the exam. A score of at least 55% on the math portion, which is geared to an eighth-grade level, and 60% on the English, which is ninth- or 10th-grade level, is required."

<snip>

"Some districts are allowing students who have not passed the exam to participate in commencement ceremonies if they meet other requirements. In the Los Angeles Unified School District, the 2,564 seniors who have not yet passed the exam will be allowed to walk with their classmates if they meet all coursework requirements; took part in a remediation program; retook the exam their senior year; and enrolled in a summer program to prepare for the test in July or October.

'I believe this is a test students should be able to pass," Los Angeles Supt. Roy Romer said in a written statement. "We will now make every effort to provide supplemental instruction in the summer months to those remaining students who will need to pass the to receive diplomas."

This does not look like an onerous requirement- and there has to be some level of basic skills and knowledge required for a degree- otherwise it's no longer worth much.

The dumbing down of America has to stop- and if that means a line in the sand has to be drawn- then I support that. In fact- it's probably long overdue.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

6. "This does not look like an onerous requirement..."

While there is a point to be made about actually teaching our children, this testing system will always be a joke until equal resources are available to all school districts. Until then, this reeks of classism.

[newblewtoo]

7. The dumbing down of America has to stop

After spending time evaluating standardized reading tests for one of the "best" northern states, I can only say you are absolutely correct. ( The entire state, not cherry picked districts ) I was told if you think these are bad you should see some of the southern states. What I saw was horrifying enough.

Everybody has different opinions on what is causing this. One thing seems to stay constant in all of the discussions I have had, 'main streaming'. The children who are above average seem to be able to cope but the children in the middle seem to be dragged down. Everyone does not learn at the same rate nor in the same way. Being in a slower class should not carry a stigma but it will stigmatize a generation who cannot read, write or do arithmetic.

[Blaq Dem]

8. And George W Bush is one of them

What's the point of having exit exams? We already know which students perform poorly in school. Adding test after test will not solve the problem. I think we need to abolish the entire grade level system and let each person learn on their on pace. And when they're ready to graduate, let 'em graduate. The current system only stigmatizes people by telling one kid if they're not as fast of a learner as a another, then they're just retarded. This leads them to drop out.

Abolish the grade level system. Let education continue well into adulthood. I'm sure most of us are not up to par in certain areas of study as we need to be. It's never to late to learn.

[mbperrin]

9. There's no evidence that these exit exams are any good.

In Texas, the state will not release validity or reliability numbers on these tests, which began in 1984 here. Every year, the TAKS scores get higher, and SAT scores fall. It's a great money-maker for the testing companies, however, and consultants to get those scores up! Unfortunately, the tests now drive the curriculum entirely, and when the tests are taken a month before school is out, the high schoolers I teach consider themselves done. And why not? It's all we talk about, because FUNDING is tied to them. So let's get those numbers and see if the damn things are any good - they sure do have harmful side-effects.

[islandspirit]

10. Where's the accountability?

My daughter's a 7th grade science teacher. Sometimes as many as 25% of the students don't do the work, the projects or come close to passing the quizzes and tests. She is failing many students - yet they are pushed into the next grade. These students know they can do nothing all year & still move on. To me, this is the biggest failure of our school system.

[noel adamson]

11. I don't think the test is very difficult; the schools need to teach.

They also need to adjust to at least the 20th century if not the 21st.

My son passed the exit exam with high scores in the 10th grade and says it is not difficult. If students don't speak english as their first language etc then, I think the test should be adjusted to accommodate them. That's my opinion but then I think the earth is round and older than 6,000 years too...