9486 in the collection
No Exit
Ohanian Comment: I mostly agree, but I don't think that students denied diplomas are "victims of inadequately financed education." They are victims of the failure of our society to demand a living wage, victims of all the social-economic ills that travel with poverty. Families, not schools, need more money. We must stop implying that dumping more money into schools can solve this problem.
Advocating more money for the schools clouds the real issue and makes it look like educators are just looking to feather their own nests.
EliminateNCLB produced a nifty one-page handout titled How States Measure UP, showing Overall Child Vulnerability and Exit Exam/Diploma info. Of the 10 bottom states in Overall Child Vulnerability, 8 of the 10 have exit exams. Of the top ten states in Overall Child Well-Being, 7 do not have exit exams, 2 do, and one is 'in progress.' This certainly says something about corporate-politico obfuscation.
Alas, this handout is not available online. If you want a copy, put $2 in an envelope and I'll send it to you.
By Monty Neill and Lisa Guisbond
Cambridge, Mass.
THE Connecticut State Board of Education is considering some form of
exit exams as a graduation requirement from high school. The board is
likely to make its recommendations to the Legislature by the end of
the year.
Connecticut should think twice before going down this road. Evidence
shows “high stakes” tests like exit exams that determine whether a
student can graduate, are the wrong prescription for what ails public
education.
The ills of many public schools are undeniable. Like other states,
Connecticut has vast disparities in educational access, quality and
outcomes. The record demonstrates, however, that exit exams are a
false solution for these problems. Graduation tests that deny diplomas
are simply another way to punish the victims of inadequately financed
education. The victims are disproportionately low-income and minority
students, some of them learning-disabled or immigrants for whom
English is not the first language.
Proponents of graduation tests ignore the real consequences. Like
snake-oil salesmen, they promise miracle cures. In reality, the
harmful side effects of exit exams include a curriculum narrowed to a
few subjects, teaching reduced to little more than test preparation,
increased dropout rates and demoralized students.
Exit exam promoters promise narrowed achievement gaps and overall
score increases. But that has not happened. While the number of states
with graduation tests has steadily risen over the last two decades,
results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the
benchmark federal test that is administered every year, show no
narrowing of the achievement gap among racial groups at the high
school level. Nor have average reading scores increased.
A major reason for the lack of progress is that high-stakes testing,
whether state-mandated graduation exams or the federal No Child Left
Behind law, flies in the face of real learning. Untested subjects are
ignored, while tested topics turn into test-coaching programs. Test
prep is like holding a match to a thermostat and believing the room
will get warmer: scores may rise on that test, but learning does not.
What’s more, high-stakes testing reduces the high school graduation
rate. Texas introduced exit exams in 1992. Fifteen years later, a
record 40,200 students in the class of 2007 were denied diplomas based
on the state tests. National independent research confirms a link
between graduation tests and higher dropout rates.
In 2006, Boston’s annual dropout rate rose sharply to 9.9 percent from
7.7 percent. At the same time, the city suffered a wave of youth
violence. Boston City Council members, who solicited the views of
local young people on why violence was rising, reported “frustration
and boredom with the endless drilling and practice” for the state
comprehensive assessment exams, which students in grades 3 through 10
are required to take.
Unable to produce evidence of real success, exit exam supporters say
we’re not doing these students any favors if we just give them a
diploma. But what is gained if students have nothing to show after
playing by the rules and passing required courses for 12 years of
schooling? Students without diplomas earn much less money, are less
likely to maintain stable families and are far more likely to end up
in prison. Denying a diploma based on a test score does neither
student nor society any favors.
If exit exams really enhance equity and school quality, why are
Southern states — the first to adopt graduation tests — still mired at
the bottom by any measure of educational performance? Why, in short,
should Connecticut follow the failed practices of Mississippi and
Alabama?
The truth is that race and class performance gaps reflect more on what
happens outside the classroom than inside. A recent analysis of high
school test scores in Connecticut found socioeconomic factors alone
account for about 85 percent of the variation in test scores in four
subjects. Connecticut can do better than putting accountability on the
backs of its children while failing to address the underlying economic
and social inequalities.
The choice is not between imposing graduation tests and doing nothing
to improve education. Solving the problem of unequal schools and
inadequate outcomes requires many actions, from ensuring financial
equity for the Bridgeports and Hartfords to better K-12 programs to
having expectations of a well-rounded education for all children.
Connecticut must reorder its priorities and pursue public policies
that address the foundations of children’s academic success: health
care, nutrition and living wages for working parents, along with
high-quality teachers, a strong curriculum and well-financed schools.
Monty Neill is the co-executive director and Lisa Guisbond is the
testing reform analyst at the National Center for Fair and Open Testing.
— By Monty Neill and Lisa Guisbond
New York Times
2007-11-04
INDEX OF OUTRAGES
Pages: 380
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