Ravenwood - 10/04/05 06:45 AM
A whopping 20% of California public high school seniors cannot pass the graduation exam. Despite making it all the way to the 12th grade, 1 in 5 students may not get a diploma, reports the LA Times.
Students in the class of 2006, the first group to face the graduation requirement, must pass both the English and math sections of the test by June.They only need to be proficient in 8th grade math and 9th or 10th grade English. But don't worry, they may end up receiving rubber diplomas.
The exit exam � which has come under criticism by some educators, legislators and civil rights advocates � is geared to an eighth-grade level in math and to ninth- and 10th-grade levels in English.
"Clearly, we need to have some options for these students," said Lauress L. Wise, [President of Human Resources Research Organization], in a telephone interview with reporters.Students are allowed to take the exam multiple times, and only need to answer a little more than half of the questions correctly to pass.The state, for example, could allow seniors to submit portfolios of work that demonstrate mastery of English and math, the report's authors suggested.
The report also proposed that schools allow students to spend an extra year in high school or earn diplomas by completing special summer school programs in lieu of the exam.
Additionally, the state could establish alternate diplomas or graduation certificates for students who pass part of the exit exam, the group said.
Category: Fall of Western Civilization
Comments (6) top link me
Clayton Cramer (my hero, remember Arming America?) also is shocked at the numbers, but I was pleasantly surprised given the large numbers of students for whom English is a second language. In fact, my first thought was that the test is probably scaled down a bit from what it would have been twenty years ago, like most standardized test have been.
I bet DC schools would do worse.
I can't remember who said it, but I've always appreciated this quote:
100 years ago, our high schools taught Greek and Latin. Now our colleges teach remedial English.
And remedial algebra.
Posted by: Kevin Baker at October 4, 2005 11:52 AMHell, I took Latin all through high school, and a lot of other high schools in the area taught Latin, and some of them taught Classical Greek.
Sad how things have changed...
Mikem,
I thought about the English as a second language too, until I saw that Asians were in one of the top brackets.
Posted by: Ravenwood at October 4, 2005 2:45 PMThese educators simply do not realize the harm they are inflicting on our students when they lower the standards. Some bone-heads in Oakland are once again trying to introduce Ebonics as a legitimate language to be used when teaching "inner city" youth.
And they're right. If they want the inner city youth to be relegated to the inner cities for the rest of their lives, then it's a good idea.
Posted by: The Other Mike S. at October 4, 2005 6:44 PMAll they want to do is dumb them down its rediclous can anyone ever remember the mess cuased by NEW MATH?
Posted by: screaming eagle at October 5, 2005 10:56 AM(c) Ravenwood and Associates, 1990 - 2014
