The Battle Over High School Graduation Tests (VIDEO)

By 2012, three-quarters of the nation's schools will require students to pass a high school graduation test to earn a diploma.

This growing trend has catalyzed a debate over the fairness of the tests, which goes hand in hand with the larger national debate over the efficacy of standardized testing in general.

CNN's Steve Perry took a look at the argument over high school exit exams in Rhode Island.

While Rhode Island Education Commissioner Deborah Gist feels that the tests will help ensure that only students who are prepared to succeed after school earn diplomas, the ACLU's Anne Mulready says the exams will hold back students who are affected by learning disabilities, poverty and other factors.

WATCH:

What do you think?

POLL:

Quick Poll

Are high school graduation tests a good idea?

Yes. Students should prove they deserve a diploma!

No. Standardized tests aren't fair for everyone.

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Comments

[bessielil]

06:50 PM on 04/07/2011

Schools should have both an attendance policy AND an exit exam for a diploma. If those were the two specific requirements we could forget all the rest of the standardized testing when its purpose is not to help individual students. The money and time we spend on standardized testing could then go to teacher salaries and equipment, as well as permit more creativity along with real instructional time. Truly limited students should be able to get a certificate of attendance and graduate. Disabled students whose disability is not related to intelligence (dyslexia) need more time and attention. Colleges are accepting students (taking their money) who are simply not ready or skilled enough to achieve.

[LMC907]

05:06 PM on 03/31/2011

Exit Exams are extremely stressful and frustrating tests for our students. There are kids who attend my high school who; have great attendance, turn in their assignments on time, study for exams and are NOT deficient in credit. However, these are some of the same students who miss the math portion by 2 points or the writing portion by 1 point. So are we saying that even though a student has earned all of the credits needed to receive a diploma, since they missed passing the exam by 1 or 2 points they don't deserve or haven't earned the right to graduate?

[Andre Bryant]

03:13 PM on 03/27/2011

As a current High School Student I have to say that High School exit exams are extremely easy. The highschool exit exam is not difficult or hard like many people want you to believe. They put so much pressure and suspense on it only for me to discover who ridiculously easy it was. I can understand failing the test if you are a very recent immigrant with no knowledge of the English language. But if you were born and raised in this country and you cannot pass the Exam you really do not deserve to gradudate.

It does not make sense to me how you can possibly pass all of your classes and yet fail the High School Exit Exam. The test is at a 6-8th grade level in math and in English I would say even lower.

[El Chingaso]

11:35 AM on 03/16/2011

No. It doesn't matter anymore...

[timotay89]

01:45 PM on 03/15/2011

How about we see if all the adults who have a diploma can pass the tests. Then see how many still think the tests should be given.

[jtabs]

12:23 PM on 03/16/2011

"Nailed it."

[4everGG]

11:40 PM on 03/14/2011

I love Perry's passion, but I am frequently out of step with him because his passion leads him to espouse rhetoric which punishes teachers. For example, his scenario involving students who, for thirteen years, attend classes only to have an exit exam extinguish their hopes of graduating is idealistic, to say the least.

I teach high school. I have students who are religiously absent. I have a kid who is still in my electronic gradebook, whom I have seen since before the winter break. (This student has a child. I assume caring for her baby keep her from making it classes.)

I have had students who rarely come and then just suddenly disappear altogether. I've also had the opposite. Students who didn't show up for nearly the whole year, but who pop up in April or May.

Is this the teacher's fault? Or the school's? No one wants to deal with home, but until we do, we will never get to the root of the problem, and we will drive many, many good, hardworking teachers out of the classroom because of personal burnout and rhetorical abuse in the media.

[4everGG]

11:44 PM on 03/14/2011

Sorry for the typos: "whom I have NOT seen since the winter break....making it TO classes."

[sdmcmla]

01:58 AM on 03/15/2011

Why worry about the problem students who don't want to learn?  By the time students get to high school, they know that they are supposed to attend school, they know they are supposed to learn the material, and they know they are supposed to do their homework.  If they elect not to learn, it's their life, they can live the consequences.  So long as the intermittent student does not disrupt the learning opportunity for others who want to learn, leave 'em be.  They will bumble their way through life just like their parents, and fill the next generation's classrooms with their own lazy, uneducated, going-nowhere-fast offspring (God help em).  At some point, we need to stop blaming teachers for the loser parents, stop worrying about the willfully ignorant (there will always be jobs at McD's) and start focusing on offering opportunities to all those who want to learn and better themselves. 

[4everGG]

01:07 AM on 03/16/2011

I'm going to guess that you are currently a teacher.

Teachers are held accountable for the success of ALL students, even those who are chronic underperformers. The current standards for the teaching profession make abundantly clear that teaching must center itself on the low-achiever, constantly working to bring him or her up to grade level, which, in most cases, is simply impossible.

High-stakes testing and school ranking that are tied to funding have created an unrelenting pressure cooker for teachers in which they must teach and reteach and teach again without ceasing and yet, often cannot publish grades that accurately reflect the actual achievement level of the students.

[nsmavrik]

05:40 PM on 03/14/2011

This is a very complicated issue, and it should have a good discussion to it and not an emotional lashing.

Consider what exactly is the problem with this little paper called a high-school diploma.

A diploma is supposed to be a certificate stating that the student has completed the required courses they need to go on to the next level of education.

The problem is that this definition has been poked, prodded, bent, torn, altered, and distorted in a way that no one has 100% trust in it anymore.

There are tales of passing without attending, passing without full completion, and passing by pre-arranged meetings with administrators. So what exactly is this problem we have?

A stardadized test in high school still does not fix the problem that the student has completed the courses they need to go higher in education. The standarized test is put in place so that the student could have a chance to pass it without going to all the classes, and thus bypassing courses that the student desperately needs so as to prepare themselves to go to college.

Standardized testing in high-school is no different then a student studying to pass the GED exam. And now there are classes IN high-school to "teach the test" so as to "smear" over the classes that the student either did poorly in or didn't do.

Bottomline, standardized testing, might seem like a good idea, but it doesn't fix the education problem in high-schools.

[lcr999]

01:30 AM on 03/14/2011

it's amazing. 44% (in the "poll") appear to be in favor of social promotion out of high school. Give them a diploma just for showing up. Of course I know that is what we are actually doing. Recent arlicle quoted that only 10% of graduates in Roch. NY were prepared to take a beginnig college class (5% if you count the 50% drop outs). It is just amazing to see the excuses.

I do remember when kids were held back, or made to go to summer school. Hardly happens anymore.

Remember there are no failures. If you lower the bar far enough, no child will be left behind.

[43yearsateacher]

12:02 AM on 03/13/2011

School administrators took away teacher's right to grade students efforts and achievement years ago, back in the early 70's to be exact. First came grading scales like excellent, satisfactory, needs improvement. Then came management by objectives...and all of the 101 other nonsensical methods of teaching that someone wrote their masters or doctoral thesis on.

And then came admonitions not to have "too many" failures in class. And so everyone passed the class...because no one felt like losing their job over the bratty kid who refused to try in class. Pass him, you betcha.

My own high school teachers would have marveled at these proceedings. So would the teachers I interned with as a young, very green, teacher. They taught school. They evaluated what part of the material you had mastered and what you had not. If your work was deficient you went to summer school. End of story.

Finally, Its amazing to this old teacher, that schools that are looking toward instituting exit tests in each subject (the next big thing), still aren't giving a final exam, a serious final exam that really counts toward a real grade, a test given to each and every student in each and every class.

You want to get serious about school quality? Teachers remember how to do their jobs. It hasn't all been drummed out of them. Turn them loose to teach, test and evaluate.

But watch out for the wailing and gnashing of teeth from this current spoiled generation.

[4everGG]

11:47 PM on 03/14/2011

Sir, you're preaching the truth. I'm with you.

[inmyhumbleopinion]

10:35 AM on 03/15/2011

Agreed. From my own experience, I know that I always performed better when the expectations were higher. And the same goes for my kids. They always had the tough teachers throughout grade school that other families avoided, and I think they are much better off for it. Instilling a work ethic is half the battle.

[poeticjustice4all]

07:10 PM on 03/12/2011

In some states, schools have drilled a loophole. They are now handing out "certificates of completion." It is not a diploma, but if the student opts to take the certificate -- the school is not required to get the student prepared to pass the graduation test. The student leaves the system after 12 years, essentially as a dropout who kept coming to class.

Before people have a knee-jerk response against graduation tests -- consider that it is an important way to keep schools accountable to the community.

[Timothy D. Slekar]

10:34 PM on 03/13/2011

When you say "accountable" why not just be honest and use the word "blame."

[poeticjustice4all]

02:07 PM on 03/16/2011

Because some schools are actually succeeding. In your attempt to defend and excuse away the failure -- you're minimizing the successes.

When a school is serving the needs of all of their students -- not just certain types of students -- they are glad to be held accountable and "blamed" for the results of their hard work.

[inmyhumbleopinion]

10:22 AM on 03/15/2011

It's not the schools who should be accountable. It's the students and the parents of those students. Schools can jump through whatever hoops we put in front of them but there will always be the kids who come from what may be insurmountable backgrounds who simply haven't placed education as a priority. Or, they have not learned enough English to grasp the material. Not the school's fault.

[inmyhumbleopinion]

10:53 AM on 03/12/2011

This is one standardized test I believe in. You shouldn't get a diploma just for attending class. You should earn a diploma based on what you know. And quite honestly, these exit exams are pretty basic. In California, most kids can pass this test with flying colors in the 10th grade.

[4everGG]

11:54 PM on 03/14/2011

Except for the ones who can't. Each year, there are plenty juniors and seniors who are taking their last cracks at passing one or both parts.

These are usually the kids who spent most of high school way, way behind in credits, were frequently absent, or were there every time the gates swung open--just not to learn.

Case in point: the counselors went around visiting classes today in pre-scheduling sessions. I have "juniors" with 80 credits, as opposed to the 130 they're supposed to have by this point. Many of them spent a couple days last week re-taking the CAHSEE.

[sdmcmla]

01:49 AM on 03/15/2011

And????  Flunk 'em and move on to students who want to learn.  The lazy, uneducated ditchers can always buy a college degree from University of Phoenizx on some other online diploma mill.  It's not worth losing a bit of sleep over this.

[inmyhumbleopinion]

10:18 AM on 03/15/2011

I don't get your point. If they're missing that much school and not learning the material, how did they get promoted in the first place? The high school exit exam is the most basic of material.

[kolys]

08:53 AM on 03/12/2011

The SATs are an absolute joke, at least in terms of gauging the actual body of knowledge that a student has amassed over the course of his/her education.

A well-designed exit exam would be compiled by an independent board, mailed to the schools in sealed packets a couple of days before the test date, and then sent back for grading, and CHANGED EACH YEAR. Thus, no teaching to the test. Teachers would have to teach to the curriculum from which the test questions would be randomly drawn.

Propose that, and I'll support it vociferously.

[hawhite2000]

01:48 AM on 03/12/2011

Let's walk in truth, we already have exit exams; it's just that people don't have to take them. People take the SAT, ACT or some other for of test before graduation high school. If they are to continue their education they will need to take one of these tests. It seems to me that by giving these tests you aren't really testing whether or not students have learned this information, you are testing whether or not students have retained information they may or may not have learned. I think that is a big difference, and because of that I don't support they idea of exit exams. I wouldn't vote no in the poll either because I feel that it doesn't accurately voice my concern.

[lcr999]

01:33 AM on 03/14/2011

SAT tests essentially middle school math, and reasoning, along with vocabulary. It is not a test of what you learned in HS.

You seen to think it is ok to forget something after you learn it. Retaining information is in fact the purpose of education.

[hawhite2000]

07:49 AM on 03/14/2011

The SAT requires more than middle school math, but it doesn't get into preCalulcus and Calculus unless you are dealing with the SAT II.

I would say that retaining information is not the purpose of education. The purpose of education is to develop reasoning abilities, and in so doing knowledge is retained.

I am only suggesting that by attempting to test all that was learned in high school, we miss the point. Testing in this way basically says that we don't trust that the student learned the information the first time. The larger question is what did this testing buy the student? Did it really make sure they were prepared for their future or did it just make allow someone to check off a box?

[TheBlondeRaven]

11:10 PM on 03/11/2011

Exit exams or no exit exams is a trivial issue. Concentrate on the real matter of hand; the descending amount of actual learning and knowledge possessed by many high school graduates.

[lcr999]

01:39 AM on 03/14/2011

It is not a trivial issue if you are an employer or college , expecting it to signify a certain level of accomplishment/preparation. As it is, for many school districts it is merely a certificate of attendence. NYS used to have a Regents diploma, which indicated you took more/harder courses. Of course, since everybody in NY is above average, they are doing away with that, so that after this year, everybody will get a regents diploma. If you lower the bar low enough, everybody can get over it. That is what passes for quality.

[mistercoyote]

09:36 PM on 03/11/2011

I voted yes on this sorta-poll because giving out a watered down diploma does no one any good in the long. Yes to well-contructed exit exams BUT ONLY if accompanied with adequate NEW FUNDING to help disadvantaged students learn the subject matter, no matter what it takes.

This country has refused to properly fund public education since the day it was invented. Teachers are compensated at such low rates that it attracts primarily only low-achieveing
college students to become teachers. It is a self-fulfilling prophecy for disaster.

The current wish of politicians (overwhelmingly Republican) to even further de-fund public education is shameful and must be reversed if this nation is going to avoid slipping to 3rd world levels in our lifetime. Yes to exit exams but a thousand times yes to adequate funding so that every student will be prepared to pass them.

[lcr999]

01:45 AM on 03/14/2011

Sorry, but his is More of this no child left behind cr@p. There is already lots of funding and effort to help disadvantaged students. Anybody can teach the upper half of the class for 1/3 the per pupil expense....and give them all the advanced courses they want. IT is the bottom half that takes all the effort and resources.

We are well past the point of diminishing return.

In the post HS world, people are left behind all the time. Social promotion does no one any good.

I do fully support quality pubic education. But the reality is that some kids do not want to learn, at least not at their age. That is not the school system's fault

[mistercoyote]

11:00 AM on 03/14/2011

This view is myopic. And what I said has nothing to do with "No Child Left Behind" in the twisted George Bush sense of the term. What should be examined is the far-from-intelligent structure of the school systems themselves. Teachers must be compensated like professionals in order to attract professional-grade people into the discipline. Now it is in large measure a matter of substantial numbers of substandard teachers and administrators failing in their efforts (however well intentioned) to bring students into the
mainstream of competentcy. If you think the road to building an effective educational system is expensive, compare it to what it costs society of have large numbers of uneducated, unemployable people on the streets and sooner or later (sadly for all) in the penal system.