California passed a law requiring that high schoolers must pass an exit exam (which has been given for several years) in order to officially graduate. It was originally overturned by a lower court based on the argument that it was biased against poor areas and people who speak english as a second language. See the Reuters blurb here.
The poor argument I can understand. It would suck that one didn't graduate because they happened to live in an area with such bad schools that they had no chance in passing the exam. But I would want to see data supporting that argument and that it actually happened because of that.
As for the second language argument, that's bunk. English is a required course in high school, so you should be able to have a basic level for the language. It isn't like they suddenly started requiring students to know some subject that they weren't taught. If they don't have a basic knowledge in all the required subject areas, they should not get a high school diploma, period.
1 comment:
You hear bits and pieces about this. I have been told that the math is like 8th grade level and the english is 10th grade. You are given multiple times to pass and you can pass in sections. If this is true, then the info that so many don't pass is pathetic, but possibly true!
Mom
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