Lawmakers contemplate changes in statewide testing

“Lawmakers contemplate changes in statewide testing” by Donna Gordon Blankinship
The Seattle Times
Published 2/4/2011
Retrieved 2/13/2011
Complete URL: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/education/2014135283_schooltesting05.html
Intended Audience: educators, lawmakers, and the general public

Summary: Washington lawmakers anticipate difficulty in making the transition from general math and science exams to more in-depth, end-of-course exams as prerequisite to high school graduation. It is likely that some students may be required to complete end-of-course exams for courses they took in previous years of high school. Lawmakers are concerned about preserving fairness for those caught in this transitional period

Key Points: 3 current options (in the form of bills):
1. Reduce the amount of exam requirements needed to graduate for those students in transition.
2. Make the transition more gradual by delaying some subjects and continuing with others.
3. Do away with statewide testing as a graduation requirement altogether.

Relevance: The issue here is one of fairness for those students who, say, took Calculus in their freshman year of high school and may now be required to take an end-of-course exam up to three years later – on a subject that may require a few months of extracurricular studying to return to a level of proficiency in that field. Granted, this article focuses specifically on a transitional period which does not affect many students, but once the new policies are established, these end-of-course exams may have a big effect on the rigors of graduation requirements.