In the past, some less-than-motivated students have been able to use a loophole, related to North Carolina's extensive end-of-grade and end-of-course testing, to avoid working consistently throughout the year. Students in Orange County were able to squeak by and pass classes with high test scores - but low homework scores - and now administrators are looking to close that loophole:
Occasionally, an Orange County student who's hasn't done his or her classwork during the school year has wound up passing the grade or class by acing a state-required standardized test.
Now, the county school board is trying to change that. Members are considering a policy that would require students to meet classwork and attendance standards before they could pass a class. The current practice allows students to move on just by showing proficiency on state tests.
"You potentially had students who would do nothing during the school year," said Superintendent Shirley Carraway. "It's just awful. If you think the end-of-grade or end-of-course test is a minimum standard, you could pass and simply eke by."
Board members are now aiming to make promotion dependent on any local requirements as well as test scores.
Posted by kswygert at November 29, 2004 10:43 AM