Fwd: NYTimes.com: No Exit

[monty@fairtest.org]

This FairTest op ed opposing a proposed graduation text in Connecticut  
appeared in todays CT edition of the NY Times. Monty

NEW YORK/REGION OPINIONS / NEW YORK/REGION OPINIONS | November 4, 2007
November 4, 2007
Op-Ed Contributors
No Exit
By MONTY NEILL and LISA GUISBOND
Cambridge, Mass.

THE Connecticut State Board of Education is considering some form of  
exit exams as a graduation requirement from high school. The board is  
likely to make its recommendations to the Legislature by the end of  
the year.

Connecticut should think twice before going down this road. Evidence  
shows ?high stakes? tests like exit exams that determine whether a  
student can graduate, are the wrong prescription for what ails public  
education.

The ills of many public schools are undeniable. Like other states,  
Connecticut has vast disparities in educational access, quality and  
outcomes. The record demonstrates, however, that exit exams are a  
false solution for these problems. Graduation tests that deny diplomas  
are simply another way to punish the victims of inadequately financed  
education. The victims are disproportionately low-income and minority  
students, some of them learning-disabled or immigrants for whom  
English is not the first language.

Proponents of graduation tests ignore the real consequences. Like  
snake-oil salesmen, they promise miracle cures. In reality, the  
harmful side effects of exit exams include a curriculum narrowed to a  
few subjects, teaching reduced to little more than test preparation,  
increased dropout rates and demoralized students.

Exit exam promoters promise narrowed achievement gaps and overall  
score increases. But that has not happened. While the number of states  
with graduation tests has steadily risen over the last two decades,  
results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the  
benchmark federal test that is administered every year, show no  
narrowing of the achievement gap among racial groups at the high  
school level. Nor have average reading scores increased.

A major reason for the lack of progress is that high-stakes testing,  
whether state-mandated graduation exams or the federal No Child Left  
Behind law, flies in the face of real learning. Untested subjects are  
ignored, while tested topics turn into test-coaching programs. Test  
prep is like holding a match to a thermostat and believing the room  
will get warmer: scores may rise on that test, but learning does not.

What?s more, high-stakes testing reduces the high school graduation  
rate. Texas introduced exit exams in 1992. Fifteen years later, a  
record 40,200 students in the class of 2007 were denied diplomas based  
on the state tests. National independent research confirms a link  
between graduation tests and higher dropout rates.

In 2006, Boston?s annual dropout rate rose sharply to 9.9 percent from  
7.7 percent. At the same time, the city suffered a wave of youth  
violence. Boston City Council members, who solicited the views of  
local young people on why violence was rising, reported ?frustration  
and boredom with the endless drilling and practice? for the state  
comprehensive assessment exams, which students in grades 3 through 10  
are required to take.

Unable to produce evidence of real success, exit exam supporters say  
we?re not doing these students any favors if we just give them a  
diploma. But what is gained if students have nothing to show after  
playing by the rules and passing required courses for 12 years of  
schooling? Students without diplomas earn much less money, are less  
likely to maintain stable families and are far more likely to end up  
in prison. Denying a diploma based on a test score does neither  
student nor society any favors.

If exit exams really enhance equity and school quality, why are  
Southern states ? the first to adopt graduation tests ? still mired at  
the bottom by any measure of educational performance? Why, in short,  
should Connecticut follow the failed practices of Mississippi and  
Alabama?

The truth is that race and class performance gaps reflect more on what  
happens outside the classroom than inside. A recent analysis of high  
school test scores in Connecticut found socioeconomic factors alone  
account for about 85 percent of the variation in test scores in four  
subjects. Connecticut can do better than putting accountability on the  
backs of its children while failing to address the underlying economic  
and social inequalities.

The choice is not between imposing graduation tests and doing nothing  
to improve education. Solving the problem of unequal schools and  
inadequate outcomes requires many actions, from ensuring financial  
equity for the Bridgeports and Hartfords to better K-12 programs to  
having expectations of a well-rounded education for all children.

Connecticut must reorder its priorities and pursue public policies  
that address the foundations of children?s academic success: health  
care, nutrition and living wages for working parents, along with  
high-quality teachers, a strong curriculum and well-financed schools.

Monty Neill is the co-executive director and Lisa Guisbond is the  
testing reform analyst at the National Center for Fair and Open Testing.



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NEW YORK/REGION OPINIONS / NEW YORK/REGION OPINIONS | November 4, 2007
Op-Ed Contributors: No Exit
By MONTY NEILL and LISA GUISBOND
High school graduation tests punish victims of a bad education.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/04/opinion/nyregionopinions/04CTneill.html?ex=1194753600&en=efb5e3979e240532&ei=5070&emc=eta1




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ABOUT THIS E-MAIL
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