Re: Fwd: NYTimes.com: No Exit

[aburke5054@aol.com]

Right.  NAACP argued in federal court that CT is not meeting its 
obligations under NCLB to to improve its schools, so clearly much more 
than a graduation test is needed.

Art

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From: monty@fairtest.org
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Subject: [arn-l] Fwd: NYTimes.com: No Exit



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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This page was sent to you by: bobschaeffer@earthlink.net.

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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