Quote:
Originally Posted by AKA_Monet
The "all children left out"  program instituted statewide testing in order to graduate high schools and in addition to being used as a tool for acceptance into college. The issue is that these tests (in my state) does not adequately test students knowledge in several areas, such as math and science. The other issue is several students who attend schools in disparate locales cannot pass this test because of ill-preparedness, and lack of command of the English language, etc. Some students have learning disabilities and right now the time and questions on the test do not allow them to be sufficient to pass in order to graduate.
And now, the military requires a high school diploma to enlist. A GED--so I heard--is no longer acceptable... Something to do with billion dollar training and equipment...  |
This year's class was the first to be held accountable for passing the WASL, and the vast majority have. The only subjects they had to pass by this year was reading and writing (math isn't until 2013), and there is no testing time limit. Students get many chances over several years to pass it. If they can't pass the minimums of the WASL, particularly reading and writing, they shouldn't graduate. A high school diploma should certify a student has met certain standards of education.
ETA: if we were in some European countries, our kids' entire working lives would be dictated by the results of high school testing. In Germany, for instance, if you don't do well enough on high school exams, you don't get to go to college - you go into the vocational tract instead. University tract is only for the most high-performing kids.