Raising The Grade: End Of Instruction Tests

High school students all across the state will be put to the test next week. Right now, Oklahoma students have to take end of instruction tests, but they don't have to pass them. <br><br>Some states

Thursday, April 15th 2004, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

High school students all across the state will be put to the test next week. Right now, Oklahoma students have to take end of instruction tests, but they don't have to pass them.

Some states have raised the stakes on testing by requiring students to pass before they can graduate.

News on 6 anchor Terry Hood tells us raising the stakes doesn't necessarily Raise The Grade.

â€œWe are going to continue to do a few more practices." Susan McClarty is preparing her biology class for the state end of instruction exams. But she says the real challenge is convincing her students to take these tests seriously. â€œThey were starting to say, 'now what do I get out of this?' and 'why do I have to answer these?' and 'what happens if I donâ€™t do well?' And I really think some of my students just filled in bubbles."

Sophomore Sam McDonald says knowing colleges will see the score is enough motivation for him. But he admits that's not the case for many of his peers. "Some people donâ€™t care about it, and you donâ€™t have to study, so itâ€™s just not important."

History teacher Eric Fox says one 60-minute test can't accurately measure a student's knowledge. "It can be part of an accurate assessment. It can be part of a holistic picture of the student and deficiencies and strengths and weaknesses, but it can't tell us everything."

Students who have to pass a test to graduate aren't necessarily learning more in high school. For example, two national exams are used in college admissions. Texas has had high stakes testing for more than a decade. But on both the ACT and the SAT, Texas students actually scored lower than students in Oklahoma. Some are concerned raising the stakes on testing will also raise dropout rates. The research isn't conclusive.

But an Arizona State University study examined 16 of 18 states with high stakes testing. They reported dropout rates increased in 8 of those 16 states, and graduation rates dropped in 10 states. And what about that Texas claim of proficiency? Lisa Chandler, Director of Texas Student Assessment: "We wouldn't have high school students graduate who couldn't read for example or who couldn't do certain mathematics skills. But a passing grade on the Texas end of instruction exam doesn't necessarily mean a student is ready for higher learning.

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board reports half of incoming college freshmen in Texas had to take remedial courses. Oklahoma reported only 38%. But more than half of Oklahoma students didn't pass the biology end of instruction exam last year.

And many teachers and lawmakers say something needs to change.

One Oklahoma school district is trying to do something to improve its end of instruction scores. They're not punishing students by withholding a diploma; they're offering incentives to get those test scores moving. We'll have that story in next week's Raising the Grade.