Exit Exams Put States to the Test

[Bob Schaeffer <bobschaeffer@earthlink.net>]

STANDARDIZED HIGH SCHOOL EXIT EXAMS PUT STATES TO THE TEST

USA Today -- October 31, 2007
by Greg Toppo

But the tests are proving controversial. Maryland has delayed exams by 
two years. The state Board of Education meets today and Wednesday to 
decide whether to move the date again.

If nothing else, advocates say, exit exams have contributed to higher 
expectations. In 2005, a record 68% of high school graduates in the USA 
took at least four years of English and three each of math, science and 
social studies — a big improvement over 40% in 1990.

A federal transcript study released earlier this year found that 51% of 
students were doing college-preparatory work, up from 31% in 1990.

"The truth is we were letting kids out in droves without the basic 
skills necessary," says Russlyn Ali of the Education Trust West, an 
advocacy group in Oakland.

The same federal study showed that the average high school senior still 
doesn't read very well, and skills may have worsened since 1992.

When they work, exit exams lay bare the need to improve school for 
underserved students, says Jack Jennings of the Center on Education 
Policy in Washington, D.C. "It becomes startlingly clear that there's 
unequal education."

To be sure, the tests have an outsized effect: This year, 65% of all 
students and 76% of minority students must pass one or more to earn a 
diploma, according to a study by the center.

The Maryland State Teachers Association, the state's largest teachers' 
union, has gone on record opposing the exams as the gatekeeper to 
graduation.

"You're putting all your eggs into the basket of one or two standardized 
tests," says spokesman Daniel Kaufman.

Advocates for low-income and minority students are using the scores to 
force improvements. Last year, Arizona students who didn't pass the exam 
sued, saying the state didn't give them enough help. In another lawsuit, 
a court ordered more funding for English language learners.

In California, a 2006 lawsuit entitles students who don't pass the exit 
exam to get two years of free tutoring.

It's unclear how much the tests will improve schools. One analysis of 
Maryland's algebra test, for instance, found 65% of items were 
pre-algebra problems, which most students learn in middle school.

"How do we not hold kids to that standard and work like hell to get kids 
up to it?" says Mike Cohen of Achieve, a group created by business 
interests and governors.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2007-10-29-exit-exams_N.htm