The tests are too hard! How dare we expect our students to learn?
In the recent debate over whether or not public school is best for one's children, this little gem came to my attention.
It seems that my state, Maryland, is considering an 'alternate' graduation requirement. Right now all Maryland high school students have to pass four exams in order to graduate from high school, in algebra, biology, government, and English. With the four scores being taken in aggregate: a great grade on one test would pull up a failing mark in another. (Which I have huge problems with in the first place, but I digress.)
With recent graduation rates and test results from the 2006 school year coming back, it was found that many Maryland high school students were failing these four exams! The results were especially dismal in Baltimore City and Prince George's County, the poorest, most urban, and "ethnically diverse" areas of the state. Rushing to the rescue of these failing students, the state assembly is considering offering a make-up project for those who don't pass the exams.
From Wednesday's Washington Post:
Maryland high school students who are unable to pass a set of exams required for graduation could instead submit projects to demonstrate their mastery of academic subjects, under a plan introduced Tuesday by State School Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick.
Students in the Class of 2009 (this year's juniors) and those who follow must pass the exams in algebra, English, biology and government -- or earn an adequate composite score on them -- to graduate.
Grasmick offered her alternative because she is concerned that hundreds of students could be denied diplomas based on a single set of tests, rather than on their mastery of the subject.
She announced her proposal and discussed this year's results of the High School Assessments at a State Board of Education meeting in Baltimore. She said that the number of students who would be affected by the proposal, known as the "Bridge Plan for Academic Validation," would be small and that most students would be able to pass the tests without assistance.
The state did not release its data, but local jurisdictions reported that overall pass rates on the test for the Class of 2009 ranged from about two-thirds in Prince George's County to higher than 80 percent in Howard County.
Opponents of the tests say thousands of students -- particularly in Baltimore and Prince George's County -- are at risk of being denied diplomas, and some state lawmakers have been calling for the testing system to be examined and perhaps made more lenient.
Supporters of the exams, including Grasmick, have warned that weakening the requirements would devalue high school diplomas and render students unable to compete in the global marketplace.
Students have seven or eight classes -- only four of them are tested in the first place. Then if your aggregate (average) score on those four exams isn't at 60% (a D) you'll be given a project so you can demonstrate that the tests weren't an adequate judge of how much larnin' you got in your four years of high school. For example, Prince George's County had a fail rate of 33%. But if those students fail their four exams, they would get a project -- allowing them to get their high school diploma despite their failure on the woefully inadequate exams.
For the students, there is no struggle, no challenge, no fear -- because the educational system which let these students down in the first place is going to lower and lower and lower the bar so much that it's practically impossible to not get your high school diploma. The Maryland Board of Education has already gotten rid of the requirement that students pass all their classes. All they have to do is pass four exams instead of seven or eight classes per year (as reflected on report cards). And then the students don't even have to pass all four -- as long as their average score is high enough they still get out of HS. And now, for those who don't even meet that weak requirement, there's the project.
This project is supposed to reflect "their mastery of the subject" -- in my humble opinion that's best judged by a comprehensive exam. I realize that not everyone is a "test person" but you know what? A high school diploma is worth the extra toil, struggle, study, and (dare I say it?) work. If you don't get it, study harder until you do. Don't give these students a pass.
What does this proposed legislation really mean? To me, this is a scathing indictment of the teachers in Maryland. The real winners here are the woefully inadequate teachers. Teachers can skate by, half-assedly teaching their students without fear of accountability or professional reprisal for the disservice they've been doing to their students. Students receive their high school diploma despite not learning a darn thing for four years. The teachers get rid of their troublesome (read: dumb) students and feel better about themselves because their graduation rates have gone up.