Now There Is Even Less Motivation To Study For California High School Students

[Said1]

MissileMan,
Are you talking to me, or yourself?

Oh, puuulllleeeeeeeeessssse. Grasping at sarcasm. I hear that's a sign of high IQ, found amoung members of the Ayran Nation. Tis true, no?

 

[Unkotare]

SACRAMENTO, California (AP) -- A judge said Monday he is likely to prohibit the state from requiring that high school seniors pass an exit exam to graduate, siding with attorneys who say the test discriminates against the poor.

A group of high school students and their parents sued the state Department of Education in February, seeking a preliminary injunction to halt giving the exam to this year's senior class. It's the first class required to pass the exam to earn a diploma.

Both sides are scheduled to appear Tuesday before Alameda County Superior Court Judge Robert Freedman in Oakland. Freedman said in his tentative ruling that he is likely to issue the injunction, based on the plaintiffs' argument that all California students do not have access to the same quality of education.

"We've submitted substantial evidence, overwhelming evidence that kids who attend schools in large cities are far more likely to be taught by teachers who are not qualified or credentialed," said Arturo Gonzalez, a San Francisco attorney who is representing the students.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell said he would appeal any ruling blocking implementation of the test.

"Independent research shows that because of the high school exit exam students are working harder and learning more, and those who are struggling are getting the help they need to succeed," he said in a statement.

The department said last week that about 11 percent of this year's senior class has yet to pass the English and math test, although students have multiple opportunities to take the exam. Department officials noted that in previous years, about 13 percent of seniors failed to graduate for various reasons.

Special education students who sued the state over the exit exam won a one-year exemption while the state comes up with an alternative for them.

The same Alameda County judge is scheduled to hear arguments next week in another lawsuit against the exam. Public Advocates, which won a $1 billion settlement over equal access to education in California schools, claims the department failed to properly investigate alternatives to the exam.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/EDUCATION/05/09/exit.exam.lawsuit.ap/index.html

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