[regional_school] Fw: A waste of time and money

From: Dan Drmacich <dandrmacich@xxxxxxxxx>
To: Denise Bartalo <denisebartalo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Bill Bendschneider <bamboo789@xxxxxxx>, Carolyn Bennett <cwriter85@xxxxxxx>, Mary Berger <mpresber@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Wasa Bouphavong <daboupha@xxxxxxxxx>, G Brown <gjb0145@xxxxxxxxx>, Amy Brown <scottvbrown@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Pat Cavanaugh <cavanaughpat22@xxxxxxxxxxx>, Jason Charno <jasoncharno42@xxxxxxxxxxx>, A Colon <aacolon@xxxxxxxxxxxx>, Rochelle Corey <archer14611@xxxxxxx>, Deana Darling <jddarling@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Deana Darling <darlin3@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Brian Erway <brian_erway@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Karen Fisher <fishekh@xxxxxxxxxxx>, Dennis Francione <d.francione@xxxxxxxxxxx>, Shalanda Garfield <Shalonda_Garfield1@xxxxxxxxx>, Lynn Gatto <lynn.gatto@xxxxxxxxxxx>, Nancy Gersh <nancygersh@xxxxxxx>, RJ Glomboski <parallax@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Synthia Green <sng4979@xxxxxxxx>, Richard Greene <richard_greene@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Gretchen Haag <gretchenhaag@xxxxxxxxx>, Shawn Haarer <drhaarer@xxxxxxxxx>, Kate Hathaway <kaytea@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Kyra Hawn <khawn@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Joseph Henderson <jhenderson11@xxxxxxxxx>, Sara Hughes <sara@xxxxxxxxxxxx>, Julia Kantor <julia.kantor@xxxxxxxxx>, Jack Langerack <jlanger0@xxxxxxx>, Barb Lemcke <b_lemcke@xxxxxxxxx>, Joan LoCurto <locurto135@xxxxxxxxx>, Tom Mackey <tmackey@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Jennifer Malinchak <jenjenfuller@xxxxxxxxxxx>, Katheryn McCullough <katmccullough@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Gena Merliss <merliss@xxxxxxxxx>, Jessica Metras <jessicametras@xxxxxxxxx>, Nancy Monachino <nmonachino@xxxxxxxxxxx>, Gwynne Mosch <Gwynne.mosch@xxxxxxxxxxx>, Barbara Moynihan <barbara.moynihan@xxxxxxxxxxx>, Kevin Murray <kmurray@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Jessie Nimeh <jgnimeh@xxxxxxxxx>, Maureen Nupp <Maureennupp@xxxxxxxxx>, Anne-Pat Nuzback <Anne-Pat_Nuzback@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Rich Ognibene <richard_ognibene@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Tom Pappas <tjp18@xxxxxxxxxxx>, Sheila Pearlman <yspearlman@xxxxxxxxxxx>, Norreen Pelusio <njpelusio@xxxxxxx>, Pamela Pruitt <pamela.pruitt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Todd Pschierer <psch811@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Kari Ritter <kritter84@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Rosemary Rivera <rrivera@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Emily Roberts <emilymarkelle@xxxxxxx>, Peter Rosenthal <prosenthal@xxxxxxxxxxx>, Scott Schaefer <mister_schaefer@xxxxxxxxx>, Chojy Schroeder <chojy.schroeder@xxxxxxxxx>, Sharon Silvio <ssilvio@xxxxxxx>, Pete Smith <petersmith71@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Ralph Spezio <rspezio@xxxxxxxxx>, Mathew Taber <sundevil108@xxxxxxxx>, Leslie Vermeulen <ldvermeulen@xxxxxxxxxxx>, Jennifer Wheeler <jennifer_wheeler@xxxxxxxx>, Mary Wilkins <mtkwilkins@xxxxxxxxx>, Thomas Witmer <tbwitmer@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Ruth Young-Card <cardjrb@xxxxxxx>, Lee Zelazny <lee.zelazny@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 23 Apr 2009 15:25:22 -0700 (PDT)

--- On Thu, 4/23/09, Lynn Ellingwood <lellingw@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

From: Lynn Ellingwood <lellingw@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: A waste of time and money
To: 
Date: Thursday, April 23, 2009, 3:32 PM

A Waste of Time and Money

The discovery that California's high school exit exam unfairly
prevents 20,000 students a year from graduating is only the most
recent evidence showing that the exam is a waste of time and money
('High school exit exam hinders female and non-white students, study
says," April 22).

Recent research done by scholars at Indiana University, UC Davis and
the University of Minnesota has shown that in general state high
school exit exams do not lead to higher employment, or higher earnings
by graduates, nor does the presence of high school exit exams result
in improved academic achievement.

In fact, researchers have yet to discover any clear evidence that
High School Exit Exams benefit anyone except the companies that make
and sell them.

Stephen Krashen

High school exit exam hinders female and non-white students, study
says

Los Angeles Times

By Mitchell Landsberg

April 22, 2009

California's high school exit exam is keeping disproportionate
numbers of girls and non-whites from graduating, even when they are
just as capable as white boys, according to a study released Tuesday.
It also found that the exam, which became a graduation requirement in
2007, has "had no positive effect on student achievement."

The study by researchers at Stanford University and UC Davis
concluded that girls and non-whites were probably failing the exit
exam more often than expected because of what is known as "stereotype
threat," a theory in social psychology that holds, essentially, that
negative stereotypes can be self-fulfilling. In this case, researcher
Sean Reardon said, girls and students of color may be tripped up by
the expectation that they cannot do as well as white boys.

Reardon said there was no other apparent reason why girls and
non-whites fail the exam more often than white boys, who are their
equals in other, lower-stress academic assessments. Reardon, an
associate professor of education at Stanford, urged the state
Department of Education to consider either scrapping the exit exam --
one of the reforms for which state Supt. of Public Instruction Jack
O'Connell has fought the hardest -- or looking at ways of intervening
to help students perform optimally. Reardon said the exam is keeping
as many as 22,500 students a year from graduating who would otherwise
fulfill all their requirements.

"No one can be happy with these results," Reardon said. "The
exit
exam isn't working as it was intended."

O'Connell issued a statement containing measured praise of the report
but defending the exam, saying it "plays an important role in our work
to ensure that a high school diploma has meaning." Other officials in
the Education Department reacted skeptically to the study, sharply
rejecting its assertion that the test has no positive effect on
learning.

"I'm not ready to agree with that at all," said Deb Sigman,
deputy
superintendent for assessment and accountability. The researchers, she
said, "don't look at grades, they don't look at classroom
observation
or interviews with children."

But Russell Rumberger, a professor of education at UC Santa Barbara
who directs the California Dropout Research Project, called the study
"very sophisticated" and said policymakers need to take heed of its
conclusions and perhaps consider an alternative test.

State Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) issued a statement
saying that the research "reinforces the concerns that many of us have
had about the exit exam from its inception." She said the results
"must make us all pause and take stock of whether the exam could be
fixed or is fatally flawed."

The exit exam, which students can take multiple times beginning in
their sophomore year, includes math and English tests, with the math
aligned to eighth-grade standards and English to 10th-grade standards.
It has been criticized both for being too easy and for unfairly
denying a diploma to students who otherwise might graduate.

The study, funded by the private, nonprofit James Irvine Foundation,
is based on analysis of data from four large California school
districts, those in Fresno, Long Beach, San Diego and San Francisco.
Reardon said the results were very similar for all four districts,
suggesting that the conclusions had broad application for all
California schools.

Not surprisingly, the researchers found that the exam was toughest on
students in the bottom quarter of their class, based on state
standardized test scores. That was also where the study found the
strongest inequality of results.

"Graduation rates declined by 15 to 19 percentage points for
low-achieving black, Hispanic and Asian students when the exit exam
was implemented, and declined only one percentage point . . . for
similar white students," the study said. Low-achieving girls had a 19
percentage-point drop in their graduation rate, compared with a
decrease of 12 percentage points for boys.

Reardon said he initially was skeptical of the "stereotype threat"
effect, but that it has been well-established by social psychologists
and appears to apply to the test disparities.

mitchell.landsberg @latimes.com

[regional_school] Fw: A waste of time and money

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