In Tucson the natives are restless:
Legislators are wiggling worse than this year's high school juniors over the status of AIMS as a graduation requirement. The class of 2006 will be first to face passage of Arizona's Instrument to Measure Standards as a prerequisite to graduation.The kids get five tries. They already have taken the tests twice, and about half of them didn't pass all parts of AIMS. Then again, they took the tests as sophomores. They have until senior year to pass all parts. And they know that they must conquer AIMS to graduate.
Or do they? Some lawmakers insist the kids should get diplomas without passing AIMS. So instead of studying, many juniors may be crossing their fingers and biding their time.
Talk about mixed messages. Reminds us of the mom who tells her son he can't have the car till he finishes his homework, then tosses him the car keys. Please. Our kids deserve consistency - and not just at home...
The test series isn't perfect. No standardized test ever is. But we likely will spend eternity refining AIMS to better reflect evolving state standards. In the meantime, the least we can do is keep a strong and certain stance with our students. They know what to expect.
And our lawmakers have chosen precisely the wrong year to mess with those expectations.
What's gotten Tucson editorialists so steamed? My guess is, events like this:
Disabled and special-education students would be exempt from passing AIMS to get a high school diploma under a bill approved overwhelmingly yesterday by the House K-12 Education Committee. Students who meet other criteria would be exempt: those who had near-perfect attendance, completed all required courses with C grades or better, took AIMS every time it was offered and participated in senior-year AIMS tutoring...The legislation is a watered-down version of a bill (HB2294) that would have retained AIMS, a reading, writing and math test, but eliminated the graduation requirement.
The editorialists aren't the only ones aggravated by this:
State Senate President Ken Bennett said he would prevent his colleagues from debating a proposal to let many high school students graduate without passing the AIMS test...The lawmakers sponsoring the plan say the exam has taken away autonomy from local school boards and that they will continue pushing for their plan. They appear to have the support of about half of the Senate and a large majority of the House.
Bennett said he would halt any attempt to dismantle AIMS as a graduation requirement unless there are other legitimate alternatives in place, such as a specified score on college placement exams such as the Scholastic Aptitude Test...
Schools chief Tom Horne isn't kidding around, either:
The class of 2006 must pass the high school AIMS exam to graduate, and now Arizona schools chief Tom Horne wants each student's AIMS scores stamped on his or her diploma.Critics say the proposal would unfairly rank kids, and students would be less likely to show off their diplomas to families and friends on graduation day. Horne says it would motivate students to study harder and reach their potential. He will ask the state Board of Education to consider the plan when it meets Monday...
Under the proposal, districts would be required to place a sticker on each diploma, showing a student "met the standards" or "exceeded the standards" on the math, reading and writing sections of the exit exam. For example, kids who "met the standards" on last year's math section scored 70 percent to 83 percent; those who "exceeded the standards" scored 84 percent or above. A graduate who exceeded standards on all three sections and made A's and B's in college prep courses would get a "high honors" sticker.
...and you can just imagine what types of responses this plan got:
Linda Ronnebaum's stepdaughter is a junior at Deer Valley's Mountain Ridge High School, and Ronnebaum fears the stickers would become a competition and a stigma. "Once you start putting labels on diplomas, you're labeling children," said Ronnebaum, an administrator at a West Valley elementary district. "Let's make them feel good about getting their diploma, not comparing what stamp you got on it."Mary Silva and Louise Silva are not related, but both have children who passed AIMS and are juniors at Agua Fria High School in Avondale. They had very different reactions to adding the sticker to their children's diplomas. Mary Silva worried that such individual labels would make a child "feel better or less than someone else."
"I know there are some children who study and study and just pass," Mary Silva said. "How does that make them feel?"
Let's take that thought even further. What about those students who study and study but don't earn a diploma? Aren't we all making them feel bad by giving those who pass a diploma in the first place? Shouldn't we have a piece of paper to give the failers to put up on their walls - something along the lines of, "You're perfect, just as you are!"?
Seriously, people. We're not talking about children here. We're talking about young adults - some of whom might enter military service immediately after leaving high school - who, if they haven't already, will soon realize that the world out there is going to let them know just where they stand in comparison to everyone else.
Posted by kswygert at March 2, 2005 03:46 PM