The Center for Education Policy predicts that by 2012, nearly 74% of all public schools in America will require students to pass an exit exam to graduate. Currently, many schools across the country have already implemented mandatory exit-course tests, often referred to as “EOCs” ("which" stands for “End of "course” exam). According to interviews and surveys, “state-e" education officials reported many reasons for adopting end-of-course exams. Almost all states that have adopted or are moving toward end-of-course exams reported that they are doing so to improve overall accountability, increase academic rigor, and achieve alignment between state standards and curriculum.
An Overview of Exit Exams
The national education initiative “No Child Left Behind” is considered one of the leading causes and catalysts for the rise in exit exams. No Child Left Behind requires all schools to submit formal standardized test scores, which will be utilized to assess and review each school’s performance. To better prepare students for standardized tests, many schools have implemented EOCs and graduation tests to provide students with added and consistent testing practice.
A graduation exit exam is often a project or test that assesses a student's understanding of their high school educational experience; an EOC, on the other hand, is designed to evaluate a student of a particular class/course content and information.
In addition to providing students with beneficial testing practice, many school and state leaders assert that exit exams are being instituted to hold all students equally accountable for the information they were required to learn throughout their courses and high school careers.
As Howard Blume of the Los Angeles Times explains, “‘States' say they are moving toward end-of-course exams because the tests make more sense in alignment with existing high school curriculum,’ said Jack Jennings, CEP president and chief executive. ‘However, to understand the full impact of end-of-course exams, we need more detailed studies about implementation issues and how the exams affect student outcomes, curriculum, teaching, and performance by specific student groups.’”
The Current Exit Exam Policies
Currently, the only state with a state-mandated graduation exit exam is Washington; however, as the testing requirements are becoming increasingly popular, the Los Angeles Times reports that 14 more states “will use" end-of-course exams by 2015: Arkansas, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Washington. Adding to this, several states are also investigating new ways to incorporate graduation exams and graduation projects into their curriculum.
The Pros and Cons of Exit Exams: Examining the Debate
With the rising trend of graduation and EOC exit exams, the Center of Education Policy predicts: “more students will be required to take more difficult end-of-course exams in order to graduate, signaling that state leaders are not entirely satisfied with exit exams, which are minimum competency tests.” While these exit exams were instated to ensure student accountability, many educators and school leaders are concerned about the potentially harmful impacts of such tests.
Specifically, Barbara Pytel explains that students with specific learning disabilities or academic struggles are often overlooked when it comes to standardized testing: “Taking a tough stand while pounding on a podium in the presence of other legislators does not make learning disabilities and learning styles disappear. Mandating accountability does not find homeless children a home, does not make drive-by shootings disappear, does not make dads appear in a single-parent home, and it doesn’t address language skills for ESL students (English as a Second Language).”
As Pytel asserts, standardized tests often punish students who are dealing with personal and/or cognitive struggles, as they are designed to only assess students of “average" academic ability; however, regardless of one’s circumstances or natural ability, all students are required to take state-mandated tests.
Adding to this, Terri Sessoms, from the International Center for Leadership in Education, argues that students all have unique learning styles; as a result, “Teachers take these learning styles into account when teaching new concepts. Students may watch a presentation (visual), take notes as the teacher instructs (auditory), and complete a project based on the same information (kinesthetic).”
Despite these learning differences, “The standardized exit exams that many states adopt favor the left-brained students. These students tend to learn by lecture, memorize easier, and don’t get confused with the answer choices. Right-brained students don't dwell on these tests despite knowing the topic. They see every answer as a possibility under the right conditions. Despite knowing the information, they are likely to select an incorrect answer.”
This video gives us an overview of the FCAT (Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test).
Ultimately, the testing policies were initiated to ensure that schools and students performed successfully. Ideally, these tests should help school and state leaders figure out new ways to provide students with more beneficial lessons and learning opportunities. Despite these goals, however, as Pytel argues, “While demanding exit exams may sound good initially, these exams do not truly reflect students' knowledge. The exams don’t prepare the students for the real world where they are allowed to use manuals (and) ask questions.”
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