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Re: State Board votes down Exit Exam options
If students are already "proficient," why should they have to take
another test, anyway?
This brought to mind of the CLAS situation in the early 90s. My sons
were in high school at that time. The CLAS was defeated through
organized opposition. Much of it from the same conservative spectrum
that now supports high-stakes testing. For the record, I supported the CLAS.
What did the opposition do then that was so successful? Why was
opposition to the CLAS effective, but opposition to the current
over-obsession and misuse of tests less than effective? How can we use
that experience to inform our efforts now?
Kelley
George Sheridan wrote:
Education board votes down exit exam alternatives
By Juliet Williams -- Associated Press
Published Wednesday, March 8, 2006
http://www.sacbee.com/content/breakingnews/story/14227476p-15051200c.html
The state board of education on Wednesday voted against offering
alternative assessments for students who fail to pass California's
high school exit exam.
The unanimous decision means that potentially tens of thousands of
high school seniors who have been unable to pass the two-part test
will not be allowed to graduate with their classmates. This year's
senior class is the first required to pass the exit exam.
The 1999 law establishing the test said the Department of Education
needed to study alternatives for students who were deemed "highly
proficient" but still were unable to pass.
Board of education member Donald Fisher argued against other
assessments, saying the English and math portions of the test measure
basic skills that all potential high school graduates should possess.
"The test is very simple," he said. "I would be surprised if they
could be 'highly proficient' and not be able to pass this test."
The Legislature would have had to approve an alternative if the board
had recommended one.
At the start of this school year, about 100,000 seniors had not passed
at least one of the sections - more than one-fifth of the state's
roughly 450,000 high school seniors. State officials have said they do
not have updated figures, although they say the number is much lower
now because students have had several chances to take the exam this
school year.
One group of students already has filed a lawsuit claiming the exam is
illegal and discriminatory. The students are seeking a court
injunction to delay the consequences of the exam for the Class of 2006
— an exemption already won by special education students.
Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell recommended the
board keep the exit exam as the sole measurement of whether students
should earn diplomas.
He said students who fail it can get extra tutoring, take another year
of high school or move on to community college and take the test again
later.
State Sen. Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles, spoke to the board Wednesday
and criticized the department of education and the board for failing
to fully study alternatives until the last minute. She said state
education officials had five years to investigate other assessments
but waited until late last year to begin the process.
She also said those meetings were not open to the public.
"The public has not had an opportunity to review this," she said
before the board’s vote. "Give us an opportunity to study the issue,
to participate."
The board’s vote was 10-0, with one abstention.
Starting in 10th grade, students have multiple opportunities to take
the two sections of the test, which measures 10th-grade English and
eighth-grade math skills. Some schools are offering the test as late
as May.
Nearly half the states have a similar graduation requirement, but most
offer alternatives for students who can't pass.
George Sheridan
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