Are high school exit exams necessary? More states are saying no

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Fox News:

Many states across the county are changing their high school graduation requirements.

 

Students in Mississippi, for example, no longer are required to pass all their final tests in order to receive a diploma.

 

“This option gives students another way to demonstrate that they have mastered their course work without making the requirements for graduation contingent upon the outcome of any one particular test,” said John Kelly, chairman of the Mississippi Department of Education.

 

Mississippi schools are still required to give exams in Algebra, English, Biology and U.S. History, but they now count as 25 percent of a student’s overall grade in each class under the new policy.

 

About half of U.S. states choose not to use the “exit exams.” They were begun by southern states back in the 1970s to create a standard to identify how to increase student performance, according to Jennifer Zinth, high school policy center director at the Education Commission of the States.

 

Zinth said that Georgia, North Carolina and most recently Arizona are also not using an exit exam policy, while states like New York and California require their students to pass tests in order to receive a diploma.

 

Supporters believe the tests motivate students to work harder and set an achievement standard in their state.

 

Critics think exit exams are unnecessary and place too much pressure on students -- ultimately decreasing graduation rates.

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Because proving you've actually earned your way out is such hard work...

[Valin]

Where was this in 67!