"A child's learning is the function more of the characteristics of his classmates than those of the teacher." James Coleman, 1972

Sunday, October 11, 2015

Has California really abolished the high school exit exam? Not quite.

Sent to my state government representatives:


 According to news reports, Gov. Brown has "abolished" the high school exam.  Not quite.  The bill Gov. Brown signed (AB 172) does not abolish the exit exam forever.  In fact, it requires that a panel be set up to "provide recommendations" for a new high school exit exam. 

I hope the panel reads the research on high school exit exams.  Several studies have been done showing that high school exit exams do not lead to more college attendance, do not result in increased student learning and do not result in higher employment. In fact, researchers have yet to discover any benefits of having a high school exit exam.

I will be happy to provide the details of the research.

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