SeattlePI.com guest columnist Neal Starkman has found the answer to the exit exam controversy in Washington:
Passing the WASL is proposed to be a requirement for graduating from high school, but students would be able to retake the test -- let's see, at last count, 87 times. Plans are also under way to provide alternatives to the WASL, such as the Way Easier Assessment of Student Learning, the WEASL.People in favor of the WASL say it's important to set standards or else graduation won't mean anything...Opponents of the WASL say the test is unfair to some students, that it puts too much pressure on them, and that students who fail the test all 88 times will feel bad about themselves...
I have a solution that will satisfy those who think the WASL is the greatest measure since the Stanford-Binet "IQ test" and those who have trouble spelling "IQ." It's a degree for students who fail the WASL. It's the A.G. degree -- Almost Graduated.
Here's how it works: I'm a student who doesn't take tests well, principally because I can't read or write. Or I can take tests well, but for some reason the WASL doesn't measure what I learned all throughout school...I take the WASL and I flunk it. Then I take it again and I flunk it. Then someone reads it to me and mouths the answers, and I flunk it. So what happens to me?
What happens to me is this: I walk alongside my fellow students in the graduation ceremony but instead of a diploma, I get my A.G. degree. It's coiled and beribboned like the other diplomas, but instead of saying, "Congratulations, you've graduated!," it says, "Well, you Almost Graduated. Good luck."
I don't get humiliated, I don't feel bad about myself, and, best of all, I can continue with my life almost as if I graduated. If a business wants to hire me after seeing I have an A.G. degree, well, they deserve me.
Takes care of the "self-esteem" part, I suppose. Be sure to read the comments, too.
Posted by kswygert at January 30, 2006 03:05 PM