Bill to Bypass Exams Ok'd

In accordance to Kallas's blog I will be responding to the issue presented in the Star Telegram article. 

The Senate Bill 149, allows high school seniors to still graduate despite poor performance on high school exit exams. There are many debates on if this bill was a reasonable strategy. According to Governing Data the Texas graduating rate is 86%. Some factors that would have been taken into consideration are the fact that the seniors will not be fully prepared if they continue their education for pursue a higher level career. However for many students standardized test are not their strong subject and even if they know the material, if they are nervous test takers they could fail the test. Another factor would be the graduation rate would be raised and raising that would also lower the unemployment rate, making the annual data for Texas better on paper.


A reason many support the bill is because, "State Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, the bill's author, said it was "not designed to provide some kind of easy exit," but to give some qualified high school seniors a way to graduate if state standardized exams are the only obstacle preventing it." In response Hammond provided a reason against the bill being, "it also reduces the value of the diploma for all those who worked hard in school and proved their skills on these tests".

Student who unfortunately do not graduate from high school for whatever reason affect the unemployment rate. No degree means it is extremely hard to obtain a job and the small jobs they are qualified to work are in no means a substantial income. They take jobs away from the students who need a starter job for the sole purpose of gaining work experience because they can rarely go higher than a starter job. They are unable to contribute to the economy because they have nothing to offer, no advance job, no money to spend and no furthering themselves to help their communities  Later in life only a few go back for their G.E.D. because they realize they cannot go far in life without that bare minimum of a standard education. 


Allowing students to bypass the exit level standardized test will only hurt them. They will not be fully prepared for high education and careers. The students will begin to gather the thought that they should not even try because they will graduate regardless of any effort. The students who do push through and study and work hard to pass the exam will feel dishonored and betrayed. Although there are many students who standardized testing is their weak point even if they know the material, but there are even more who do not know the information and do not put any effort into learning it and advancing themselves. Passing this bill is unfair to those who have a strong work ethic and tells those who do not that it is okay to do nothing and expect a reward in return. If we are gonna ignore the scores on the test, why even take it at all?  This is not Ophra, you don't get a degree just for showing up.