Word: testing
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...massive infusion of effort would cause scores to improve so substantially that very few students would fail the exam, then perhaps the proposed high stakes system would be reasonable. However, overall scores rose only very slightly from the first time the test was taken to the second time. In some areas, scores fell despite classroom emphasis on test preparation. It seems clear that scores on this test, like the quality of education in general, can change only gradually. Three years is not enough time to improve a 40 percent failure rate to a reasonable success rate...
...students who will be clawing for their passing grade were first exposed to this type of test in eighth grade, and their low scores did not come as a great shock. The standardized frameworks for English and math, on which the test is based, were completed only a couple of years ago. Since they were distributed, teachers have been expected to adapt to these frameworks, and students have tried valiantly to mold their answers to the format that the MCAS encourages. However, the timetable has been too short, and it is the students who are being shortchanged...
...diploma and an honors diploma, much like the Regents system in New York. Students who excelled in school and reached the "proficient" or "advanced" level on the exam would be recognized for their achievements, while students who completed all high school requirements and passed their courses but not the test would receive an ordinary diploma. This policy would take advantage of the best aspect of the test, its ability to identify the most effective parts of the educational system, while avoiding the travesty of denying diplomas to a massive segment of the student population. In other words, the test would...
Fundamentally, the argument comes down to the idea that a student's entire high school career should not depend on one fickle test, for no test provides a perfect measurement of achievement. A high school diploma should not be a giveaway, but neither should it depend upon what appear to be unrealistically high expectations of performance. Students should receive some sort of a diploma if they pass the required high school courses...
...resources to improving the quality of education under this legislation. Standards and expectations have been raised, and much-needed attention has been focused on the schools. However, if more than a quarter of the total high school class across the state fails to receive a diploma because of one test, the outrage will cause an immense backlash against education reform, with destructive consequences. The state must encourage and enable students, teachers and administrators to improve themselves--it must not threaten them...