Improving the Educational Standards of Students - Essay Example

of the of the Requiring to Pass a Standardized Test to Receive A High School Diploma Will Not Improve the Educational Standards or Academic Achievement in Our Schools The states of the Union in the US are reviewing the situation wherein a student, even after spending thirteen years in school, fails to learn the fundamentals of mathematics, English, history and science and who should nevertheless, be awarded with a high school diploma (Toppo). Students of elementary schools, high schools, undergraduates and graduates will have to take the Standardized examination. The Educational Testing Service or the ETS; and the American College Testing or the ACT Program, monitor these standardized tests. Colleges and educational institutions will have an opportunity to assess the ability of the student seeking admission, on the basis of these results. They will be enabled to assess the suitability of the student who had applied for admission into undergraduate or graduate degree programs (Standardized Tests, 2006). Twenty – two states of the Union have implemented such exit examinations and there is a proposal in four more states to follow suit. Critics have opined that implementing exit examinations in schools would not be beneficial to children from low income group families. Controversy surrounds these exit examinations. Thus, the state of Maryland postponed its examinations schedule for two years. The state Board of Education is keenly reviewing the date regarding implementation of exit examinations. However, proponents of exit examinations claim that the tests would improve the quality of education and contribute to the achievement of higher goals (Toppo). An improvement in the amount of time expended on various subjects was discerned in high school graduation. For instance, in the year 2005, sixty – eight percent of high school graduates had studied English for four years and mathematics, science and social studies for three years. This is a laudable feat and is higher than that of the year 1990, wherein only forty percent of the students had graduated in the core subjects. According to the results of a federal study, in the year 2005, fifty – one percent of students had taken college preparatory work, which had been only thirty – one percent in the year 1990 (Toppo). According to Russlyn Ali of the Education Trust West, an advisory group in Oakland, most of the children in the USA graduated without acquiring basic knowledge and skills. This was established in the federal study. Moreover, that study had disclosed that the average high school senior student was unable to read fluently and lacked basic skills. In addition, Jack Jennings of the Center on Education Policy, Washington D.C., claimed that exit examinations are essential for improving the quality of education in schools and could prove to be of great advantage to slow learners (Toppo). Indeed, the tests would improve the quality of education and the students would learn the basic skills required of a high school graduate. Therefore, the study had observed that sixty – five percent of all students and seventy – six percent of minority students would have to pass the exit examinations in order to be awarded with a high school diploma (Toppo). The Maryland State Teachers Association has expressed its opposition to the proposed exit examinations. The Association’s spokesman Daniel Kaufman is of the opinion that the standardized tests will be strenuous to students because these tests would require the reproduction of a large amount of information (Toppo). On the other hand, advocates for low income and minority students are lobbying for improvements in the exit examinations, on the basis of results. Students in the state of Arizona had sued the state government for failure to provide sufficient help to them. These students had failed in the exit examinations (Toppo). In one case, a state court had ruled that there should be provision of sufficient funds for English language learners. In another 2006 law suit, a California court held that the government had to provide free tuition for two years, to students who had failed in the exit examination. However, uncertainty prevails with regard to exit examinations and their efficiency in improving the school education (Toppo). It was revealed in an analysis of Maryland’s algebra test that nearly sixty – five percent of the questions related to pre – algebra which was taught in middle school. This clearly denotes the quality and standard of the standardized tests (Toppo). In Ohio State, a high school diploma is insufficient for obtaining admission to universities that offer four year courses. Accordingly, the state General Assembly is planning to include stricter norms in the education curriculum. This was proposed by the Governor, Bob Taft. In an address, he insisted that there should be tougher curriculum in universities offering four year courses. He also confirmed that soon the new curriculum would be made a prerequisite for such admissions. Post secondary remedial courses were limited to two year colleges and it was discovered that remedial courses were expensive in Ohio (Fischer). States must review the questions in the standardized tests which are meant for high school students and attempt to improve their quality. In this regard, the project Mixed Messages: What State High School Tests Communicate About Student Readiness for College, had reviewed sixty – six standardized tests used by secondary schools in twenty states. Their analysis revealed that a very limited number of such tests were properly designed and successful in making the students comply with the requirements of colleges. This project was carried out by the institute Standards for Success, which comprised of twenty – eight research institutions of the Association of American Universities (Hebel). The participants in the project have compiled a sample question paper to be used in the test. This sample question paper tests the skills learned by the high school students and what the colleges required from new students. They submitted this sample paper to every high school in the nation. The university body made a comparison of the standards inherent in that paper with those of the tests conducted by the states. Subsequently, the university association ranked the tests conducted by the states (Hebel). State tests that had been prepared well and which were in consonance with norms specified by colleges, the group had given a ranking of A. State tests, which were inconsistent with the requirements of colleges, were given a ranking of B and tests that were not well aligned with the requirements of the colleges were ranked as C. A rating of A was awarded to just three of the state tests out of thirty – five state tests in the subjects of English and arts. None of the state tests obtained a rating of A in the subject of mathematics. The highest rating was awarded to Kentucky’s core – content test on writing on demand; Missouri’s English assessment in English; and Oregon’s assessment in writing (Hebel). It is the duty of states to review and study the performance of students in college, who had passed the high school standardized tests. The states are also required to identify as to how many students remained in remedial courses. Furthermore, leaders of secondary schools and colleges have to design new means and strategies to fulfill their requirements (Hebel). According to Michael Carr, spokesman for the National Association of Secondary School Principals, the concerted efforts of both the state officials and student leaders of secondary schools and colleges would reduce the gap between the standard of high school students and the standard required by colleges. Most of the states’ standards merely concentrate on evaluating the students’ knowledge of a narrow body of specific information and fail to focus on improving superior standard skills (Hebel). Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California passed a legislation that provides exemption to students with disabilities from exit examinations and from obtaining a pass mark in these examinations. Under the new law, exemption from taking the exit examination is provided to a student who had been allowed to study in an individual educational plan. In addition, such students had to comply with the other eligibility norms for being awarded with a high school diploma. If a student had received remediation for the exit examination, then that student was to be awarded with the diploma. The underlying aim of the new legislation was to provide better instructions for students with disabilities in the state of California (Jacobson, 8th of Februray, 2006). The Center on Education Policy, or the CEP, had made it compulsory for fifty – two percent of the students studying in public schools to take the high school exit examination. However, implementation of such a policy was difficult for the CEP, due to strong opposition from the public. Similarly, those students who do not obtain a pass mark in the exit examinations would not be awarded a high school diploma. This decision to withhold the high school diplomas of students, who were unable to qualify in the exit examination, was met with tremendous resistance from the parents of those students (Darling-Hammond, Rustique-Forrester, & Pecheone, 2005). Subsequent to the implementation of the exit examinations, there was a decrease in the number of graduate students, particularly among Afro – American and Latino students, English language learners and students with disabilities (Darling-Hammond, Rustique-Forrester, & Pecheone, 2005). Standardized tests would cause difficulties to students who wished to continue in school. Such reforms would drastically reduce the incentives available to students. Furthermore, such reforms would cause a reduction in the curriculum and promote disregard among students for higher level performance skills. In addition, there would be limited opportunities and irrelevant assessments with regard to the learning skills of students. Works Cited Darling-Hammond, Linda, Elle Rustique-Forrester and Raymond L Pecheone. Multiple Measures Approaches to High School Graduation. April 2005. 9 July 2007 . Fischer, Karin. "In Brief ." Chronicle of Higher Education (2/3/2006): 00095982, Vol. 52, Issue 22. Hebel, Sara. "States Tests for High-School Students Are Out of Sync With College Standards, Report Says." Chronicle of Higher Education (11/7/2003): 00095982, Vol. 50, Issue 11. Jacobson, Linda. "California Grants Some Test Waivers." Education Week (8th of Februray, 2006): Vol. 25, Iss. 22, P. 21. "Standardized Tests." Microsoft Encarta 2006 [DVD]. Microsoft Corporation, 2006. Toppo, Greg. Standardized high school exit exams put states to the test. USA TODAY. 17 January 2008 . Read More