"In two setbacks for high school exit exams, a judge in Oakland said Tuesday that he was inclined to ban such tests as a graduation requirement in California and a Massachusetts school board voted to issue diplomas to students who had failed such tests despite a state law prohibiting that.
"Judge Robert Freedman of Superior Court in Alameda County said in a preliminary ruling on Monday that the exams, standardized math and English tests that high school seniors have to pass to graduate, discriminated against impoverished students and students learning English."
Finally a breath of fresh air in the political morass that surrounds testing and standards in the United States. Judge Freedman, in recognizing the bias to culturally diverse students, returns to a position that is both fair and equitable regarding testing. It has long been known that high-stakes tests are biased in favor of white, middle class students. There are both cultural and class issues that negatively impact students of color or poverty too numerous and complex to address here but researchers have made it clear over the past half-century that these biases exist and, therefore, tests discriminate against these groups. Given the commitment to equity in the United States, it seems to me that it has taken far too long for anyone in a position to do anything about this imbalance to actually do something about it.
One of the arguments for high-stakes testing is that such testing raises standards in schools, thereby making schools a better value for the dollars spent on public education. There is no clear and compelling evidence that this is the case. There is clear and compelling evidence that testing serves as a great value to a handful of test publishers, to newly graduating psychometricians, and to the careers of political hacks that interfere with the processes of schooling by passing draconian legislation such as No Child Left Behind.
Three cheers for Judge Freedman.
Two Setbacks for Exit Exams Taken by High School Seniors - New York Times:
Fair Test: The National Center for Fair & Open Testing
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