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Goodbye exit exams?
Texas is getting rid of its exit exam ... sort of.
This is from the Austin American-Statesman: "The Legislature has ordered educators to stop giving the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) in high school and replace it with 12 end-of-course exams. They'll be similar to final exams in a class, but they will come from the state instead of local teachers. ... End-of-course exams will differ from the TAKS in two significant ways. For one, students must average a passing score on the 12 tests to graduate instead of having to pass each major subject area. In other words, there's more room for a bad day, but only one or two. Second, students will take the tests right after the material is taught to them, avoiding the lags between learning and testing that can now last a couple of years or more." California just started counting its exit exam in 2005-2006. California students have to pass the exit exam to graduate. They have to pass two parts -- English and math. There's no averaging between the two like what Texas is going to do. Also, California students have many shots at the exit exam starting in 10th grade, but they take the whole thing at once, not in parts.What do you think of Texas' new approach? Will it work? Is it better or worse than California's exit exam program? Go here for the full Statesman story: http://www.statesman.com/ne... 3 comments from 3 users
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posted by
adampayne
on Jul 11, 2007 at 12:52 PM
Sounds like a step in some other direction. This really is one more indication the nation remains without a standard barometer to measure public school academic achievement by. Most of this is meaningless anyway, because the few universities that really matter are nearly all private schools.
posted by
RoyTullis
on Jul 11, 2007 at 06:38 PM
California's exit exam in English and Math measure knowledge at an eight grade level. Stusents get up to five chances to pass it. This is a test for graduation? What a Joke. Well, I guess it's better than nothing.
posted by
johnburnssucks
on Jul 11, 2007 at 09:03 PM
Texas is where this whole No Child Left Behind idea got started. Rod Paige, soon to become Bush's Secretary of Education, was head of the Houston School Distict, whose students had this dramatic increase in standardized test scores. It was known as the "Houston Miracle." Bush patterned NCLB after it. Unfortunately, it is now known as the "Houston Myth," because most of these wonderful test scores were do to lies, falsification of data, and plain old cheating. CNN had a terrific program on the scandal in 2005.
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