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 Posted: Thu Mar 04, 2010 7:39 am
Alright this happened years ago but hey we can still talk about it, right?
So a few years ago it was decided that high school students in California must pass the High School Exit Exam in order to receive a high school diploma. This test was very easy! I passed it the first time I took it. (They gave it to us for the first time our Sophomore year.)
I didn't even read the articles for the reading comprehension part. I only read the first paragraph, if the information I needed wasn't there I just skimmed through it to find the answer.
I glanced at all of the math questions and guessed if I couldn't figure it out within 10 seconds. I DIDN'T EVEN WRITE ANYTHING DOWN! I am terrible at math by the way. I took me two years to pass Algebra I.
Here are some statistics. 2001 was the first year it was given and the last set of tests were taken in 2009. The percentages are the students that passed
2001: Math 44% English 64%
2009: Math 29% English 30%
What was done about this? Students are no longer required to pass the High School Exit Exam. Am I the only one who is bothered by this?
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Posted: Thu Mar 04, 2010 7:44 am
I just found some more information.
The English portion of the test is at a 10th grade reading level. You only have to get a score of 60% to pass!
The Math portion is at an 8th grade level. You only have to get 55% to pass!
55% on a test that 8th graders should be able to pass!!! That is an F!
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Posted: Thu Mar 04, 2010 9:29 am
Well they don't want to deal with them, so they are passing them through maybe.
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Posted: Fri Mar 05, 2010 6:48 am
Cronos the Timekeeper Well they don't want to deal with them, so they are passing them through maybe. That sounds like something they would do. Or they're ashamed that our 12th grade students can't pass a test that any 10th grader (who is not mentally handicapped) should be able to pass.
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Chieftain Twilight Captain
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Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 2:58 pm
america is purposely dumbing down it's populace. if a certain percentage of students can't seem to get a requisite score to graduate, make it a little easier for them and pass enough. the more this goes, the further down the standards slip.
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Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 5:51 pm
Isn't that fiasco part of the "no child left a dime" program? I remember taking and passing the high school exam in sophomore year too. Some of my friends passed the exam, but when they wanted to leave school because they didn't like the curriculum or because they wanted to work, they were told they couldn't--even though by all testing, they were qualified to move on. So they had to drop out and take the GED exam, which was actually harder than the high school exam. I've even heard of students graduating from high school being functionally illiterate. (Mostly these were bullies or jocks who had other people do the homework and coaches push them through.)
I heard this weekend that high school drop-outs are averaging 50% of students. Is this because high school is too hard? Or is it actually too cumbersome for students to jump through the retarded hoops that school administrations force on them?
Is public high school really benefiting our kids? Or is it teen-age day care for the lowest-common-denominator at the expense of tax payers?
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ScarletFrost Vice Captain
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Chieftain Twilight Captain
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Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 6:03 pm
i'm a drop-out, and i can tell you that it had nothing to do with my level of education. i know for fact that that i was kept down and low for not conforming, not being agood little christian boy doing everything he was told without question. because i was smart, and freedom-loving, and independant, and confident, i was not allowed to get ahead. i was not allowed to even pass a grade three years below where i should have been.
the GED may be alot harder than the current school tesing, but it certainly is not hard by far. i didn't do very well on my math section, but that's mostly because i neglected my math education, which i regret now. nothing to big to worry about, i can always lean it later, or pick it up bit by bit. i've already got my Highschool Diploma.
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Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 6:28 pm
I know a little of what you went through. Every year I had to explain to the administrators that I would be out of school for a series of Jewish holy days, usually totaling 9 days. We were allowed 10 absences before we failed our classes--regardless how well we were actually doing in the school work. My brother nearly flunked out of sophomore year because after the holy days, he developed vasculitis and had to be hospitalized for a week. Vasculitis is a condition where the immune system attacks the capillary walls and they basically get inflamed and collapse. It's particularly dangerous when it happens on the vital organs. So treatment is not something that could be put on hold for school.
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ScarletFrost Vice Captain
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Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 10:14 pm
SO fully agreed with you two. In America, school is just a way of keeping us busy. And making us get too little sleep...
So far, my experience in the matter has been this: AP classes claim to be as hard as college classes. However, for me so far (one AP class and one quarter of college, admittedly in different subjects), this simply isn't the case. AP is MUCH harder than college - why? Because it lasts all year, which involves ten times the work load than my college classes. If anything, AP classes will scare people AWAY from college. Kids D their way through AP classes, and think "If college is this hard, I'm not going to bother."
Which, of course, is exactly what those in power want. Scare 'em early so they never achieve smarts. Hell, even the adults are feeding this crap through; once a special ed teacher tried to tell me that our school wasn't below average. The scores for our school below district average, which is below state average, which is below passing. I read the WASL (our test, which just got renamed and they'd better not try to make me ******** take it again) statistics, don't try to freed me BS, lady.
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Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 10:24 pm
Oh, but "below average" is such a harsh thing to say. It's like using red ink to grade papers--it's discouraging to student self esteem, which as we all know is SOOOO important. rolleyes
I want to be a teacher, so I can be the kind to teach free and effective thought, but I already dread the teacher-parent conferences and the "talks" I know I'm going to have with the principal over the syllabus content. razz
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ScarletFrost Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2010 8:57 am
The schools aren't doing anyone any favors by just passing people through. If they go to college, they have to take an entry exam to see what classes they need to take. I knew someone who had to start in fractions and decimals. She was like 4 classes below where she needed to be, in almost every subject, to even start her college level classes. That is 2 extra years of college before she could start working on her degree.
Why do you think everyone is asking for an associates degree in order for you to get a job that used to only require a high school diploma. I couldn't be a receptionist because I haven't finished my associates. They have successfully made a high school diploma useless. I hope they're proud of themselves.
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Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2010 10:13 am
I started taking college courses when I was 16, because a lot of schools are trying to reduce their class size by pushing the advanced students to higher education. This is probably the best move they've made as far as the students are concerned, but it doesn't help the schools or the teachers. Because only the average and below average kids are left, there is no opportunity for special extracurricular activities. The music program in particular was hindered, because many of the talented musicians were also gifted in English and math, and their college courses conflicted with the band class time.
I liked the college courses, because they were challenging with clear expectations and little to no make-work to fill up extra days. Also, there weren't attendance restrictions.In the high school classes, 10 absences = F. In college classes (depending on the participation level required) you just had to take the tests and turn in the homework. There weren't any teachers or aids hanging over your shoulder, reading every word you right (regardless of permission to read), poorly psycho-analyzing every action, and "helping" you by totally not helping.
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ScarletFrost Vice Captain
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Chieftain Twilight Captain
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Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2010 5:28 pm
lss college graduates, more cheap labor corce, and in-hom etoo, so ya don't have to bother with the fluctuating desire for having/deporting immigrants from poorer countries. and if the nation needs more higher-ups, scout out some talent and push them through to get the requirements they need to serve as a loyal henchman. simple.
it's sad, but it's just the way it is. the only thing left that irritates the rich is that darned minimum wage law. cool
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Posted: Sat Apr 24, 2010 10:51 am
ScarletFrost I know a little of what you went through. Every year I had to explain to the administrators that I would be out of school for a series of Jewish holy days, usually totaling 9 days. We were allowed 10 absences before we failed our classes--regardless how well we were actually doing in the school work. I had a pretty awesome math teacher in college. The homework was only 5% of the grade. It was pretty awesome because I don't think that you should have to do homework if you don't need to. He also said that if we got perfect attendance we would get extra credit. I had another teacher who said to take a look at the syllabus and if we didn't need to come to class to do the homework then we didn't have to come to class. I don't even know how many classes in high school I got a C or below in just because I didn't do my homework. My freshman biology class was the most ridiculous thing I had ever seen. I got at least a 93% on EVERYTHING and I got an F because I didn't do most of the homework.
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