Exit exam news: school board defies state

Math Is Hard

but it doesn't really matter because the board has no authority!

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...AGLFJ5MCT1.DTL

DeadWolfe

"It's very unfair to say to students who, for 13 years, have done what we have asked them to do, 'You can't graduate.' "

...umm, no?

silkworm

Well, we asked them to pass the test and they didn't?

When are people going to realize that education is about training and not about tasks? If the person can not demonstrate they have been trained, for whatever reason, they simply have not been trained and should not be recognized as such.

Pengwuino

There seems to be a general feeling that a diploma means "I went to this one street address for 4 years, hire me" and not "I have the knowledge of 4 more years of education" in California. I mean if they cant pass this stupid exam (and it is a stupid exam, my class was the first to take the prototype version that was later dumbed down tremendously for the subsequent years use), then i don't think you worked very hard in the previous 4 years as so many "activists" are saying the kids did. Bleh that sentence made sense, shut up.

And whats this BS about kids having 4.0's and not being able to pass the exit exam? SOMETHINGS WRONG THERE! I don't know whats worse, that someone could be so stupid as to not pass the exit exam or that the system is so corrupt that someone could be so stupid as to not pass the exit exam yet still get a 4.0.

Rach3

It's so unfair for a diploma to require actually passing on a single test. They should drop that requirement. Then there would be no point in having the tests, so drop those too. But the whole point of the cirriculum is to teach to the test, that's all the teachers know to do. So get rid of the cirriculum, and fire all the teachers. Then send everyone a diploma in the mail, no questions asked. It's the only fair way.

Pengwuino

But that's too logical! And logical decisions require at least a high school education. So logically, we can't do that either.

Rach3

Your rebuttal was itself logical, so we must exclude it.

franznietzsche

No its not, this test is an utter joke. Everything on the test should be covered by a normal high school student by the end of their junior year at the absolute latest. The math is basic, basic geometry and algebra (4x+2 =6, solve for x / find the area of this triangle).

(Yes, I note the sarcasm in the rest of the post, but thats not the point)

At a certain point you have to able toa ccount for a certain level of performance. A diploma is supposed to say 'I can perform these certain tasks' If you can't do it, you don't get one. Period. Ever. End of story.

Pengwuino

franz, did you read the rest of his post?

franznietzsche

Did you read the middle line in parenthesis in my post?

Pengwuino

I give up on myself.

franznietzsche

Don't worry, so do we

At least it was highly ironic.

Math Is Hard

I have been really curious about what is asked on the test. I found this sample:http://www.californiareport.org/doma...7-exitexam.jsp

Doesn't seem too difficult. Of course, I am also hearing opponents of the test say that the samples that are given out (like the ones below) aren't truly representative of the actual questions. They claim that only the easy questions are being shown in order to fool the public into thinking it is a simple test.

****************************************************
Sample Test Questions
Here is a sampling of questions from previous versions of the California High School Exit Examination.

Math:

1) A CD player regularly sells for $80. It is on sale for 20% off. What is the sale price of the CD player?
a. $16
b. $60
c. $64
d. $96

2) Which of the following numerical expressions results in a negative number?
a. (-7) + (-3)
b. (-3) + (7)
c. (3) + (7)
d. (3) + (-7) + (11)

3) Three-fourths of the 36 members of a club attended a meeting. Ten of those attending the meeting were female. Which one of the following questions can be answered with the information given?
a. How many males are in the club?
b. How many females are in the club?
c. How many male members of the club attended the meeting?
d. How many female members of the club did not attend the meeting?

4) If n = 2 and x = 1/2, then n(4 - x) =
a. 1
b. 3
c. 7
d. 10

English Language Arts:

Students read a brief article describing some of the positive features of California, then were asked the following questions:

5) What does the word "eccentricities" mean in the following sentence? "The state's wealth is only increased by its eccentricities and its magic."
a. unusual characteristics
b. large population
c. diverse climate
d. famous beauty

6) Which of the following lines from the article BEST supports its theme?
a. "Fragrant, fruit-scented breezes waft through valleys full of orange groves."
b. "The state's wealth is only increased by its eccentricities and its magic."
c. "You don't have to travel to many other states to realize that California is a world unto itself."
d. "California's population is as diverse as its geography."

7) Which of the following strategies does the author use MOST frequently to describe California?
a. imagery
b. statistics
c. expert opinion
d. historical fact

Answers: 1) C; 2) A; 3) C; 4) C; 5) A; 6) C; 7) A

Source: California Department of Education

franznietzsche

Then they're flat out lying. Thats pretty much the level of the test. Or at least, it was when I took it three years ago, so unless its changed significantly and the sample hasn't, they're lying.

Pengwuino

Bulls***. I took the harder prototype test and IT IS THAT EASY. It was a joke. What i find even more annoying was that our class had to take the test as a complete surprise and we still rocked its world, no "teaching the test" crap either.

I have a feeling the activists say its too hard because they probably couldn't pass it themselves....

franznietzsche

I wouldn't be surprised if 50% of adults couldn't pass it in the state, given that 75%(ish) of students failed it the first year, IIRC. Doesn't mean its hard, or that they deserve a diploma anyway. It certainly doesn't speak well of california public schools.

Math Is Hard

I am just so amazed that students are taking the test three or four times and STILL can't pass it. That is just incredible to me.