Bridges4Kids Logo

 
About Us Breaking News Find Help in Michigan Find Help in the USA Find Help in Canada Inspiration
IEP Goals Help4Parents Disability Info Homeschooling College/Financial Aid Summer Camp
IEP Topics Help4Teachers Homework Help Charter/Private Insurance Nutrition
Ask the Attorney Become an Advocate Children "At-Risk" Bullying Legal Research Lead Poisoning
 
Bridges4Kids is now on Facebook. Follow us today!
 

 

 Articles of Interest - Testing

starFL Governor softens stance on FCATstar

starCA LAUSD may put moratorium on exit examstar
 

FL Governor softens stance on FCAT

by Nicole White, The Miami Herald, April 9, 2003

Gov. Jeb Bush, who has made the tough Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test the backbone of his education reform, now says he is willing to consider alternatives to help some students who fail the test to graduate from high school.

Bush softened his stance after a meeting with several members of Florida's Puerto Rican community, who visited the Capitol on Tuesday.

Strategists say the hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans who live in the state will be key in the 2004 election as the governor's brother, President Bush, seeks reelection.

"We are considering it. We're first of all trying to define what the universe is. . . . The question is how many people would be impacted by that," Bush said.

Still, the governor cautioned that he was "concerned about lowering standards or making accommodations to the point where de facto standards are nonexistent." "But on the other hand," he said, ``we want to make sure that we're not missing some opportunity of a really bright kid who comes in 11th grade or 12th grade from another country where English is not spoken and they show they have the skills to graduate."

A bill sponsored by Rep. John Quiñones, a Republican freshman legislator from the Orlando area, would allow the state Board of Education to use a 2.5 grade-point average or ACT or SAT scores to issue a high school diploma to students who are enrolled in English as a Second Language programs and who do not pass the FCAT.

Quiñones said he is encouraged that the governor is at least willing to consider the issue.

"I think the governor is beginning to see that this is a positive bill, a bill that will make sure that no child is left behind," Quiñones said.

Quiñones' proposal has the support of several Hispanic lawmakers who worry that thousands of students will not receive a diploma this year. In South Florida alone, more than 6,000 high school seniors are expected to fail the FCAT this year. This is the first year seniors must pass the test to receive a diploma.

A similar measure sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Frederica Wilson, D-Miami, would make the alternatives to the FCAT available to any student who fails the test.
 

back to the top of the page

 
CA LAUSD may put moratorium on exit exam
by Helen Gao, Los Angelas Daily News, April 8, 2003

To the cheers of dozens of students and parents who are fighting to overturn the California High School Exit Exam as a graduation requirement, the Los Angeles school board voted Tuesday to explore establishing a moratorium on the high-stakes test.

The board came short of making a commitment to issue diplomas to students who fail the test in defiance of state law, although board member Genethia Hudley Hayes suggested the idea and said she personally would support such civil disobedience.

"Their opportunity to get a decent job is zilch without a high school diploma," said Hayes, who along with board member Jose Huizar authored the resolution calling for a moratorium.

The Coalition for Educational Justice, which led the campaign for a moratorium on the exit exam, asserts the test is "racist" and "class-biased," noting that 72 percent of African Americans and 70 percent of Latino Americans throughout the state failed the test in the spring of 2002.

Coalition members say it's unfair to withhold diplomas from students when the school district is doing a poor job of educating them. They cite severe overcrowding, inadequate instructional materials and inequitable distribution of resources in the district.

"Instead of giving our children hope and inspiration, our students continue to come up against obstacles that set them up for failure," said parent Dale Martin.

Board members were sympathetic to parents' concerns.

"The more appropriate role for the exam is to use it as a diagnostic tool to find out where we are failing," said Huizar. "Right now, we are asking students to be held accountable when it's in fact the school district that should be held accountable for how we teach our kids."

The board's action comes three months before the state Board of Education is due to make a decision on whether to enforce the exit exam as a graduation requirement starting in 2004. In addition to Los Angeles Unified, school boards in San Francisco and Oakland have also been discussing a possible moratorium on the test.

The board directed the district's Office of Legislative and Governmental Affairs to investigate the legal, financial and policy implications of establishing a moratorium.

It also asked staff to investigate alternative ways of measuring student achievement and inequitable distribution of resources. The statewide goal is for all high school students to pass the exit exam starting with the class of 2004.

However, since the test was first given in 2001, only 49 percent of LAUSD students have passed the English portion and 30 percent the math portion. The state board is expected to reconsider the exit exam as a graduation requirement this summer.

At the same meeting, the school board voted to trim administrative expenditures by $16.8 million by slashing spending on an office lease, energy conservation efforts and a host of other accounts.

Each of the LAUSD's 11 minidistricts are reducing their budget by $190,000. The LAUSD faces a deficit of about $100 million in the current fiscal year, which ends July 1, and an estimated $400 million deficit in the next fiscal year.
 

back to the top of the page

 

Thank you for visiting https://www.bridges4kids.org/.

 

bridges4kids does not necessarily agree with the content or subject matter of all articles nor do we endorse any specific argument.  Direct any comments on articles to deb@bridges4kids.org.

 

© 2002-2021 Bridges4Kids

 

NOTE: (ALL RESOURCES PRE-IDEA 2004 ARE FOR INFORMATIONAL/HISTORICAL RESEARCH PURPOSES ONLY)