Imagine taking a test that impacting one's life greatly and made a huge decision for their future. In the state of Oklahoma, High School students are required to take and pass EOIs in order to graduate. An EOI (End-Of-Instruction) is an exam that is based on the Oklahoma state standards, which define what students should be learning each school year. It helps the state determine what the teachers need to focus on and it shows the weakness of different areas of specific subjects. It also gives the state of Oklahoma a ranking compared to other states. Students must take all seven EOIs, but only need to pass four specific exams to graduate. Despite the fact that everyone is different, an EOI should not determine whether a student graduates. Graduation requirements are set at a high standard along with the passing of EOIs. "The Achieving Classroom Excellence (ACE) law states that: Beginning with students entering the ninth grade in the 2008-2009 school year, every student shall demonstrate mastery of the state academic content standards in the following subject areas in order to graduate from a public high school with a standard diploma: Algebra I, English II and two of the five: Algebra II, Biology I, English II, Geometry, and United States History"(White). Within these subjects each question is scored differently depending on the difficulty level. One receives a diploma when they graduate and of course have all their credits including the passing of EOIs. If one does not pass the required amount of EOIs or for a specific subject, they will not get a diploma. An example of a test is like having a biology exam and having to answer 32 questions out of 60 to pass (Archer). There are certain goals in different subjects th... ... middle of paper ... ...cher, Kim. "Rural Educators Concerned over ACE Testing; Students Required to Pass Four of Seven Tests or No Diploma." Tulsa World (OK) 27 Feb. 2012: Newspaper Source Plus. Web. 13 Jan. 2014. Brunk, Jason. "End-of-instruction Tests Should Move Forward." The Oklahoman 07 Mar. 2012, Opinion sec.: 7A. Print. COPPERNOLL, CARRIE. "2,000 Students May Not Receive Diplomas." The Oklahoman 18 May 2012, Metro & State sec.: 3A. Print. COSGROVE, JACLYN, and CARRIE COPPERNOLL. "Testing System Fails." The Oklahoman 1 May 2013, Front Page sec.: 1A. Print. Tingle, Devante A. "Your Experience with the Eoi." Personal interview. 10 Feb. 2014. Page, Russell. "Such Gal!" The Oklahoman 09 Apr. 2011, Opinion sec.: 9A. Print. White, Melissa. "ACE Graduation Requirements." Welcome to Oklahoma's Official Web Site. Oklahoma State Department Of Education, 12 Apr. 2013. Web. 16 Jan. 2014.
U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment (1992). Testing in America's Schools: Asking the Right Questions. OTA-SET-519 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office).
Since this test has been devised, the number one question everybody is asking is, “ isn’t it unfair to base a student’s entire future on one test, when he or she simply could have had a bad day when taking the test”? The president Kirk T. Schroder of the Virginia Board of Education, answer this question by saying, “First of all, these tests are untimed, so no student is under arbitrary time pressure in taking the test.
Standardized tests, such as the SAT and the SOL, have been implemented for many years now for individuals in grade school to take. The SOL’s, or Standards of Learning tests, are Virginia’s version of standardized tests that students are required to take in order to pass a class, evaluating their knowledge on a specific subject. SOL’s are mandatory for students to take as soon as they reach third grade. Additionally, the SAT is a test taken in the final years of high school that colleges look at when comparing students for post-secondary school. People concerned with student’s education can come to the common consensus that education is important and there should be some way to compare a student’s achievements to one another. However, the process
Even with material being taught incessantly, standardized tests can not accurately measure a student’s ability. The tests are “single-target—meaning that every student, no matter what level of achievement or ability, course selection, or cu...
The current education system implemented by most schools measures a student’s progress using two methods: letter grades and standardized tests. However, the pressure put on students to achieve high grades causes standardized tests to be overlooked throughout the school year. Because of this, students enter tests with false hopes of scoring well when in reality they are severely underprepared. Honor roll students with perfect GPA’s can score in the average percentile if they are not adequately exposed to the test material. Schools should put a larger emphasis on preparation for standardized tests so students will be better equipped to take these tests and receive a score that more accurately reflects their knowledge.
Kohn, Alfie. "Standardized Testing and Its Victims." Education Week. N.p., 27 Sept. 2000. Web. 15 Jan. 2015.
"The Standardized Testing Debate: The Good, the Bad, and the Very Ugly." TakePart. N.p., n.d. 22 Feb 2013. Web. 15 May 2014.
Almost every person who has graduated from high school has taken the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT), which is generally used for college admissions. We all remember the stress of taking a test that could affect our future educational plans. Now due to the “No Child Left Behind Act” of 2001, this kind of test is now being administered to children from the 3rd to 8th grades as a way to determine if the school or teachers are educating them properly. High-stakes standardized tests of this nature should not be used to determine the educational abilities of either schools or the teachers.
Evans, Donia. "The Case Against Standardized Tests." The Meridian Star. 24 Nov. 2013. The Meridian Star. 01 Dec. 2013 .
Regularly, a student receives a diploma after a certain required course load is completed. On the other hand, some students can complete high school by a means of an equivalency test and receive a diploma that way. Unfortunately, each state, district, and even school uses the term dropout differently (USDE, 1996). The United States Department of Education?s National Center for Educational Statistics has stated three separate ways used to calculate the dropout rate. The first is when the percentage of students who drop out in a single year are reflected by the event rates. The second is when the status rates reflect a percentage of those students who in a certain age range have not finished high school ...
Today, schools are making it a priority for teachers to follow the strict guidelines of a “one size fits all testing curriculum.” Educators must prepare students for the tests that could make or break their future. This curriculum is focused only on teaching students what they need to know in order to pass the test. “Because the test is based largely on the memorization of facts, teachers will have to teach their students these specific facts instead of teaching for deep comprehension and understanding of material.” (Martin, 309) As a result, students do not learn the true lesson. Although it is highly important that students pass “the test,” this strictly based curriculum is ignoring the important academic skills and fundamentals needed for their future, even beyond the years of high stakes testing; without these needed skills students will be left in the dark once they have graduated from high school. Students often learn on different levels and their educational requirements are not being met with the “one size fits all” approach. Those who create these tests tend not to include those who learn on a different educational level; rather their focus is pointed towards the money rather than on the success of all students. Children need to learn sk...
The high school exit exam is outdated and does not reflect California’s new, more rigorous academic standards that emphasize skills needed to succeed in college and careers in the 21st century.” When interviewed, Torlakson was quick to point out that in January 2013, he had recommended a number of alternatives to the exam in a 176 page report to the Governor and State Legislature. Those alternatives included using the results of the eleventh grade Smarter Balanced Assessments; using results of other exams, such as the SAT, ACT or Advanced Placement tests, as a “proxy” for the exit exam; or using course completion in high school as a measure of proficiency. When asked if the exit exam was now abolished, Superintendent Torlakson hesitated, but explained that he, along with Mark McLean, CDE Assessment Development and Administration Division Director, look forward to forming a panel of students, parents, teachers, and education administrators to develop a more thoughtful approach to high school graduation requirements. This task force will have three years to review current procedures and determine if a new test should be developed. The final report will be presented to the Governor for approval. Personal interviews with a small number of random California teachers, students, and parents confirmed what Superintendent Torlakson stated in his interview, “The CASHEE is no longer relevant and California needs to continue to find effective ways to achieve college and career readiness for all students.” Whether the exit exam reappears in a new format or not, students, teachers, parents and CDE administrators interviewed agree that exams are only effective when support is provided to help struggling students eventually
...er — must act on that understanding and move forward.” This is why testing needs to be eliminated, so that America can student’s as people based on credibility and character; rather than as a number.
Kohn, Alfie. The Case Against Standardized Testing: Raising the Scores, Ruining the Schools. Portsmouth NH: Heinemann 2000.
Every year many students are kept from graduating high school because of these exit exams. This makes students and parents very angry. Students who have had high passing grades throughout high school do not understand why they cannot pass exit exams. Sometimes the student blames him or herself by thinking that he or she did not learn enough, when in fact there is nothing wrong without heir knowledge. These students do not realize that they lack good test taking skills. Parents are angry that their child was kept from graduating because of a single test, even though the child had all the he credits required. This situation occurred to Lee Hicks, another student from Paris (texas) High School. Had he lived 14 miles away in Oklahoma, which has no statewide exit test, he'd have received a diploma and would now be serving his country in the Navy. Instead Hicks severs customers in a Paris supermarket; he won management's Aggressive Hospitality Award for 1996. "He's a great employee, a bright young man--extremely hardworking," says store director, Larry Legg.