Former teacher Shirley Hickman muses about the effectiveness of exit exams in the Porterville (CA) Recorder:
Do the tests really measure what they say they measure? For example, the STAR Cat 9 test, which was given to high school students, was supposed to measure if students have met the California Standards in language arts, science, social science and math.
Initially there was only a 40% match between the test and the standards. Recently the test has been revised to make a better alignment and now the match is between 60% and 70%...
I am not opposed to state or national tests. In fact, much of my tutoring business revolves around helping students attain high scores on college entrance tests like the SAT I and SAT II. The tests are also telling me if I'm preparing the students adequately, and students are motivated to learn more so they can improve their test scores.
When I was teaching English at Monache and my students complained about their assignments, I explained that the work they did was preparing them for the minimum competency reading and writing tests.
Students were more willing to work hard when they knew they had to pass those tests to graduate. The California High School Exit Exam may have the same effect on many students...The aim [of NCLB] is praise-worthy, but the target will only be hit if there is a quality testing program that accurately measures what students need to know.
In contrast to Ms. Hickman's optimistic statements, here's an article from one very pessimistic and dissatisfied Alaskan high school junior, Luisa Walmsley:
It bothers me that it is so easy to graduate from high school without knowing much at all. The scores necessary to pass a course can be obtained by sitting through the classes and doing a minimum amount of work. I see students doing this in many of my classes, and I have been guilty of it myself. It is easy to take advantage of the system...
The current grading system places the emphasis on passing instead of learning. It does not matter how much you know, as long as you make a certain grade. If learning is not mandatory in order to get through school, then it must not be very important after all. What's the point of doing the work? Who cares?...
The state of Alaska has sought to remedy this problem by instituting the High School Graduation Qualifying Exam, which requires students to pass tests in reading, writing and mathematics in order to receive their high school diplomas...This exam doesn't even begin to improve the situation. We spend far too much time in school to limit our learning to basic skills. An exit exam does nothing to encourage more than just that. If we must have a test, it should be one that motivates students to seek more knowledge.
While Ms. Hickman seems to be dealing with students who rebel at learning just the basics, Ms. Walmsley thinks that the exams are too basic, and should be more difficult in order to be motivating. The exams weren't really designed to motivate students to learn more than the basic skills, though, so I can see why they'd be frustrating for students who want a challenge.
Posted by kswygert at July 28, 2003 03:49 PM