California: Foes target high school exit exam. Failure rate of minorities sparks protests, lawsuits

Sacramento Bee ^ | October 5, 2002 | Bill Lindelof

[John Jorsett]

Alarmed at the high failure rate of some minority and disabled students, parents statewide are filing lawsuits and planning demonstrations against the state's high school exit exam.

Interest groups representing minorities charge that students of color, low-income students and English learners in California are less likely to be taught by the best teachers, to have proper textbooks and to be offered a rigorous curriculum.

[John Jorsett]

Interesting that the remedy sought isn't a demand for the schools to get the test scores up, it's to just hand the failures a diploma anyway.

[John Jorsett]

ping

[bybybill]

Parents of kids that fail tests like this one are demanding the test be changed cause their brats didn`t learn anything in HS except how to put on a condom. Kinda scary. [they can vote, too]

[Puppage]

You are abosolutely correct. Why should someone take personal responsibility for thier failures? In fact, WHY is there an SAT Test to get to college? With affirmative action, and these lawsuits, it kind of makes the whole process moot.

[headsonpikes]

Jusy handing out diplomas is probably the least damaging action the State School Authorities could take.

Their mania for credentials has reified the meaningless token of school-leaving into some sort of valuable asset, even though it represents nothing more than a willingness to submit to the system.

Stop the War on Children--Close the Public Schools!

[hoosierskypilot]

Minorities are more likely to enroll in college than their anglo peers. But minorities are twice as likely to drop out than their anglo peers. Maybe this is why.

Teachers lower the demands for these students just to get them out of their (the teacher's) classroom. But obviously, the teacher is not doing the kid a favor. Cause now, the kids are perpetually stupid.

It's like when a parent doesn't have the guts or brains to confront a bad kid. The kid doesn't learn discipline and thus is unfit for society. The parent has crippled the kid for life.

Same with these lame brained teachers.

[John Jorsett]

If anyone wants to see what the questions are like, there are some released testquestions available. You need the Adobe Acrobat Reader to view them.

[kilohertz]

Just handing out diplomas is probably the least damaging action the State School Authorities could take.

The state could solve the problem with a tiered diploma system -- "diploma 1" for those who can pass the test, and "diploma 2" for those who showed up most of the time and can't pass the test, but can read, write, and do basic math.

As you say, these people are worried about not having the credential, which may be required for work or college. They should, of course, also be worried about having spent 13 years of their lives in school with so little to show for it.

[Diddle E. Squat]

I hate to say it, but there is no better way to encourage entry-level job discrimination than for minorities to fight and/or destroy these standards.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

More of the Democrats handiwork!

calgov2002:

calgov2002: for old calgov2002 articles. 

calgov2002: for new calgov2002 articles. 

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[I_Love_My_Husband]

You have got to be kidding. Who's fault is it that these people's children are f^@ked up beyond belief from day one? And that there's no dads in the home, and that they're on welfare?

They are doing what they always do, they're professional victims and don't blame themselves for their violent out-of-control children.

[DentsRun]

Here in California it's illegal (or soon will be) to use any test in which minorities do less well than whites. The increasing trend over several decades now has been to use tests so easy that everyone gets an A (no disparities here) or to use subjective essay tests in which students are graded on how passionately they describe their feelings about a subject, not how much they know about it. And now the state superintendent of public instruction is trying kill home schooling (perhaps because home schooled students do so much better on standardized tests than public school graduates).

[kilohertz]

Minorities are more likely to enroll in college than their anglo peers. But minorities are twice as likely to drop out than their anglo peers. Maybe this is why.

This may be off-topic, but what do you think of the term "anglo"? For some reason, it really annoys me -- probably because it sounds Spanish, and sounds like "gringo." I think I'd rather be "white" or "American."

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[Amerigomag]

Brasil has a system that may well work in California since the demograhics are now similar.

After completeion of the 8th grade students are given a choice. They may attend an academic high school similar to the traditional American system or they may attend a night school which leads to a watered down GED equivalant. They however must attend one or the other.

Compliance is enforced by military style watchdogs who suggest sanctions against both the uncooperative child and their parents. These truancy officers/counselors/spies roam the streets at night and can identify almost every student in the local community. Enforcement actions are implemented by state police who no one even considers screwing with.

As a consequence of this system the literacy rate in Brasil is higher than in the US.

[John Jorsett]

Compliance is enforced by military style watchdogs who suggest sanctions against both the uncooperative child and their parents. These truancy officers/counselors/spies roam the streets at night and can identify almost every student in the local community.

Sounds like press gangs. I'm sure the teacher's union would love to see more kids dragged back into the schools.

[John Jorsett]

After completeion of the 8th grade students are given a choice. They may attend an academic high school similar to the traditional American system or they may attend a night school which leads to a watered down GED equivalant. They however must attend one or the other.

A two-track system sounds like a good idea. At one time we had that here in the form of students who would go on to college, and another group who would receive vocational training so that they could go into the workforce immediately after school. That's largely disappeared now.

[LibertarianLiz]

against the state's high school exit exam.

Oh yeah, it's the fault of the exit exam. Why isn't it the fault of the Democratic run school board; or the Democratic toadies at the union hall; or the (primarily)Democratic principals and teachers?

One of these days (though I am not holding my breath) these morons may figure out what the Democratic party and their minions have done to the future of their children.

[Texas_Jarhead]

Kalifornia and Kalifornians - what a mess - forshadowing of nationwide things to come (no offense Kali FReepers)

[Amerigomag]

I think I'd rather be "white" or "American."

So are Mexicans which presents a problem for these political parasites and necessitates the use of the term anglo.

The term anglo is used because it has a double whamming for these liberal racists.

They don't have to acknowledge that Mexicans are caucasians (white) and can maintain the myth of the minority staus. The term also is derogatory and provides them a wedge issue in their Mexican constituancy which promotes their necessity as a vital interlocutor.