A group of high school seniors and their parents filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the state Department of Education and school Superintendent Jack O'Connell, claiming the California high school exit exam is illegal and discriminatory.
Lead attorney Arturo Gonzalez said the lawsuit likely will expand to represent tens of thousands of students who have met all local requirements to graduate except passing both parts of the test.
"Many students in California have not been given a fair opportunity to learn the material on the exam," Gonzalez said. "These are good kids who have worked hard for 13 years to pass their courses."
So 13 years of successfully passing courses, in preparation for the next step -- work, college, whatever -- but they can't use all that knowledge to pass a test? Golly, is the test in Sanskrit or something? Because it seems to me like if you've spent 13 years doing pretty much anything, you should be at least reasonably competent at it, unless you're a complete retard.
So either the test is made up of a bunch of stuff these poor kids just never quite got around to covering in their 13 years of grueling state-funded boot camp, or we got ourselves just another lawyer padding his bottom line. I'm guessing B.
Students in the class of 2006 are the first required to pass the two-part English and math test to receive a diploma. At the start of this school year, about 100,000 seniors had not passed at least one of the sections — more than one-fifth of the state's roughly 450,000 high school seniors.
State officials have said they do not have updated figures, but they believe the number is much lower now.
....
California's exam tests 10th-grade English, ninth-grade math and level-one algebra. Students need to answer 60 percent of the questions correctly to pass each section. [emphasis mine]
Yes, this does sound like a remarkably tough test. A score of 60% passes right on through, like shit through a goose. Why, it's a sure recipe for failure. You don't really want any of these poor kids to pass, do you, Mr. Ass-kicking Exit Exam Man?
Let's meet one of our persecuted plaintiffs:
Liliana Valenzuela, a plaintiff and a senior at Richmond High School in the San Francisco Bay area, has a 3.84 grade-point average and is 12th in her class of 413, according to the lawsuit. She said she passed the math portion of the test on her first try but has been unable to pass the English section.
"I have been working really hard to go to college," Valenzuela said Wednesday during a news conference. "I have been on the honor roll for the last four years. ... I really wanted to wear my cap and gown."
Let me get this straight. She's got a 3.84 GPA, and is in the top 3% of her class, which in California's 10% rule gains her admission into the UC system. And she can't pass 10th-grade English at a 60% accuracy rate? And I'm supposed to subsidize this person with my tax dollars in the state college system, through remedial classes that should not even exist at that academic level?
Look. I'm sorry it's mean, and I'm sorry it's unforgiving. And I'm sorry that it's inflexible for immigrants who have not had adequate time to learn sufficient English. That part truly is unfair. But it's unfair to both sides. It's unfair to the student who is clearly unprepared to learn advanced levels of discipline, in a rigorous curriculum. And it's unfair to the students who are prepared for the classes and the curriculum, who end up subsidizing people who really ought to be taking a year or two at a community college to get their shit together.
Obviously, college is entirely voluntary, so I have very little sympathy for people who just think they can waltz in without the necessary tools to be successful participants. Hopefully this stupid lawsuit gets thrown out with a quickness, and maybe even make the plaintiffs reimburse the good people of the state for wasting valuable court time.
This is utter nonsense. Tutoring is offered, the test does not appear to be terribly difficult, and its standards for passing are nearly as low as the Texas Air National Guard's. Again, I do agree that the test is not fair to newer English speakers, and perhaps provisions can be made in that regard, but that's the only small concession I can see. And even then, either you are ready to move on to the next step, or you're not. That is what the test measures, and the people who flunk it are always going to cry foul, even if they've lived here and spoken English their entire lives. Algebra is culturally skewed against minorities. Not every family has books in the household. Whatever.
Just take the fucking test, live with the results, and either get motivated to do something about your shortcomings, or realize that your pissing and moaning is just that. Seems like all that lawyer time could have been used more constructively. And in the meantime, the kids are learning a valuable lesson -- if you don't like the hand you've been dealt, get a lawyer and petition for a re-deal. Wait till they get out in the real world and realize that pretty much everyone would like that luxury. Sorry kids, in the game of life, the house always wins.
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