I'm sure this is meant to be reassuring, but I find it disturbing:
Maryland high school students may not have too much trouble with standardized tests required for graduation starting with the class of 2009. A new study from a non-profit group shows that the tests are not overwhelming.
It says the material covered on the math exams is the equivalent to what students learn in seventh or eighth grade. The english exams are like another standardized test usually given to eighth and ninth graders.
Uh-huh. Remind me again what the point of this exit exam is? If it's supposed to signify that the student has mastered high-school-level material, it isn't. And think about what this means for those students who still flunk it. (Commenters on Joanne Jacobs' site certainly have thought about this.)
The study mentioned here was conducted by Achieve, Inc.; the entire study is available from their website. Maryland wasn't the only state involved; exit exams from Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio and Texas were examined as well. The conclusion sums it up well:
Achieve reached three conclusions: First, it is perfectly reasonable to expect high school graduates to pass these tests — they are not overly demanding. Second, these exams will need to be strengthened over time to better measure the knowledge and skills high school graduates need to succeed in the real world. Third, states should not rely exclusively on these tests to measure everything that matters in a young person's education. Over time, states will need to develop a more comprehensive set of measures beyond on-demand graduation tests.
Those comprehensive sets of measures used to be called "grades;" apparently those are too unreliable nowadays. And if these test have indeed been dumbed down this far, I agree that states shouldn't rely exclusively on them.
The NYT has more:
The study found that the tests measured very basic material and skills, insufficient for success in university courses or in jobs paying salaries higher than the poverty level, currently about $18,000 for a family of four...
Matthew Gandal, the executive vice president of [Achieve], noted that exit exams were frequently attacked as unfair. "We think it's the opposite," he said. "It's unfair not to expect students to learn what's on these tests. By the time they graduate, if they haven't learned what's on these tests, they'll be really unprepared, and by then it's too late. They won't be able to go to college or to get jobs with which they can support a family."
Amen. How nice to see someone cut through the bull about how the exit exams are the stumbling blocks. They're not. The tests aren't the barriers to achievement, but the skills - or lack thereof - behind the test scores are. Too bad the testing critics in the article, who huff about "one-size-fits-all" exams, don't get this. Apparently, to them it's perfectly fine to expect seniors to perform at an eighth-grade level, or below.
New Jersey is one state that aims to toughen their exams:
New Jersey's High School Proficiency Assessment was among six state tests reviewed by Achieve Inc...The study found the HSPA was among the strongest of the lot...
In all, the study found much of the knowledge and skills in the reviewed tests should be covered by the time a student reaches the end of middle school or ninth grade. For instance, most focused largely on basic math skills that didn't exceed a year of algebra or, in some cases, pre-algebra. New Jersey's was one of the few tests that asked students for any writing sample...
Released Wednesday, the study comes after New Jersey has taken several steps to toughen diploma requirements. State Education Commissioner William Librera and the state board of education have revised the high school course requirements and sought to add community service and career options in a student's senior year. Librera is now looking at ways to end the state's alternative high school test that allows students who fail a section of the HSPA to be tested in a less rigorous process that virtually fails no one.
Last year, more than 15 percent of graduates statewide went through the Special Review Assessment, and officials say the number could top 20 percent this year. In some urban districts, the SRA share is as high as 50 percent, and advocates of the alternative exam say it is needed because of what they call the rigor of the HSPA.
Emphasis mine. In some districts, 50% of students are slipping through a loophole that fails no one. And yet critics insist, in the face of evidence suggesting otherwise, that these tests are so demanding that hordes of students drop out in response.
My take on this? First, my assumptions are that exams that are this dumbed down help no one, loopholes that give anyone a diploma help no one, and no test in and of itself will improve the educational process. Also, it's a fact that testing critics will continue to cry "Unfair!" about any test, as evidenced by their yammering about eighth-grade standards for twelfth-grade students.
Given all this, following Achieve's recommendations and New Jersey's lead seems like the best plan - toughen up the curriculum, toughen up the exams, add additional assessments, and say "Too bad" to anyone who just doesn't cut it. We've reached a point where schools are afraid to deny any student a diploma, no matter how poorly that student performs. Unless schools are willing to stand up to the critics, who will raise Cain no matter how low the standards are, exit exams aren't going to be of much use in improving high school education.
Posted by kswygert at June 15, 2004 09:32 AM