Dive Brief:

• California and Arizona have eliminated exit exam requirements for high school graduates in recent years, while Connecticut and Colorado are in the process of creating new, controversial tests.
• District Administration reports more than one-third of juniors in Ohio have yet to pass the seven exams they’ll need to graduate next year, and educators argue the new testing requirements were implemented without the time needed to prepare students for the policy change.
• In New Jersey, the state ACLU chapter and the Education Law Center sued the state department of education over new tests that they say violate state law, don’t provide enough flexibility for students who need alternatives and discriminate against English language learners.

Dive Insight:

In Connecticut, Superior Court Judge Thomas Moukawsher ordered state officials to develop a graduation test to ensure students are not advanced through a system without proving mastery of key skills that ensure their readiness for college and career. Even while the test is presented as a way to ensure equity, some civil rights defenders argue it will hurt the students in high-poverty, often segregated neighborhoods it ostensibly aims to protect.

The same tension exists with other standardized tests throughout the K-12 system if high stakes are attached to them. The civil rights community generally agrees that collecting data about student performance helps identify achievement gaps and issues that need attention. However, high stakes can create perverse incentives to cheat and game the system rather than work toward true improvement.