High school graduation rates drop to about half dozen states • New Jersey Monitor

Jill Norton, an education policy consultant in Massachusetts, has a teenage son who has dyslexia and ADHD. Shelley Scruggs, an electrical engineer in the same state, also has a teenage son with ADHD. Both students attend the same technical high school.

But this fall, Norton and Scruggs, on opposite sides, advocated for a referendum in Massachusetts that eliminated the requirement that high school students pass a standardized state test to graduate.

Norton argued that without the high demands of the standardized test, children like hers would have no incentive to try hard. But Scruggs asserted that children with learning disabilities also need types of measurements other than standardized tests to qualify for a high school diploma.

Last month, voters approved the referendum 59% to 41%, ending the Massachusetts requirement. There and in most other states, Scruggs’ position against testing prevails.

Only seven states currently require students to pass a test to graduate, and one of those – New York – will drop its Regents Exam as a requirement for the 2027-28 school year. Florida, Louisiana, New Jersey, Ohio, Texas and Virginia still require testing for graduation, according to the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, a group that opposes such regulations.

In Massachusetts, teachers unions voted to eliminate the exam as a graduation requirement. They argued that it forced them to teach certain facts at the expense of deeper or more practical learning. However, many business leaders advocated keeping the test because without it they would have no guarantee that college-educated applicants have basic skills.

Over the past decade, exit tests have declined state by state. In 2012, half of states required the tests, but that number dropped to 13 states in 2019, according to Education Week. The trend accelerated during the pandemic, as many school districts eliminated testing during remote learning and some decided to permanently extend testing exemptions.

Studies have found that such final exams disadvantage both students with learning disabilities and English language learners and that they are not always a good indicator of success in employment or higher education.

An oft-cited 2010 paper by researchers at the University of Texas at Austin may have started the trend toward eliminating testing. Researchers’ review of 46 previous studies found that high school exit exams “produced few of the expected benefits and came at a cost for the most disadvantaged students.”

Some states began finding other ways to assess high school competency, such as grades in required courses, capstone projects, or technical milestones.

“Minimum proficiency tests in the 1980s advanced the idea that we need to ensure that students graduating from high school have the bare minimum of skills,” said John Papay, an associate professor of education at Brown University. “In the mid-2000s there was a backlash against standardized testing and a move away from these exams. They disappeared during the pandemic and that led to these tests no longer being carried out.”

Despite the problems with the tests for English language learners and students with learning disabilities, the tests are “strong predictors of long-term outcomes,” Papay said. Students who do better on exams graduate and earn more.”

Papay, who remains neutral on whether the tests should be mandated, noted that high school students typically have plenty of opportunities to retake the tests and appeal their results.

Anne Hyslop, director of policy development at All4Ed, a think tank and advocacy group for underserved communities, noted that in many states testing requirements have been replaced by other measures.

Schools “still require some or all students to demonstrate competencies for graduation, but students have many more options for how they could do this.” They can complete a dual-credit (high school/college) course and industry-wide pass recognized competency tests. …

“Many states still have assessments as part of their graduation requirements, but in a much more comprehensive form,” she said.

Massachusetts is moving

Scruggs said her son took the required exam in Massachusetts last spring; He passed the exams in science and mathematics, but fell one point short in English.

“He could do well in his courses, but if he didn’t pass the three tests, he wouldn’t get his regular diploma,” Scruggs said. “How do you enter the workforce if you go to school every day and pass your classes but don’t get a degree?”

Her son took the English test again and is waiting for his new score, she said.

In contrast, Norton said the exam, called the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS), gave her son an incentive to work hard.

“I worry that kids like him … end up graduating from high school without the skills they need,” Norton said. “Without the test, they will simply be passed on. I can’t just trust that my child will get the basic level of what he needs. I need a bar where he can get the level of education he needs.”

Students in Massachusetts are still required to take the MCAS in their second year of high school, and the results are used to assess their overall learning. However, failing the test will not be an obstacle to graduation from the class of 2025 onwards. The state is still debating how — or whether — to replace the MCAS with other types of required courses, assessments or measurements.

High school students in Massachusetts and most states must still meet other graduation requirements, which typically include four years of English and a number of other core subjects such as math, science and social studies. However, these requirements vary widely across the country, as most are determined by individual school districts.

In New York, the State Education Department began a multiyear process in 2019 to overhaul high school graduation requirements and the Regents Exam. The department decided last month to phase out the final exam and replace it with a so-called “portrait of a graduate,” which includes seven areas of study in which a student must demonstrate proficiency. Credit options include capstone projects, work-related learning experiences and internships, and academic achievement. Several other states have recently moved to a similar approach.

Harry Feder, executive director of FairTest, an advocacy group that advocates for limiting standardized testing, said course grades could better assess students’ abilities.

“Standardized testing is not a good way to incentivize and measure the kinds of skills and knowledge that high school kids should be focusing on,” Feder said. “You’re being tested with a class that doesn’t have much to do with the things that are required of kids when they go to college or the workplace.”

Max Page, president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association, said phrases like “teaching to the test” respect teachers and their ability to recognize when students have mastered content and skills. The high school tests will be taken in 10th grade for the first time in Massachusetts. If the children do not pass the exam, they can repeat the exam in the 11th or 12th grade.

“Educators are still evaluating students,” he said. “It is an illusion to say that everything a student does in education can be measured by a standardized test in 10th grade. Of course, the training goes up to the 12th grade.”

He added that course grades are still a good indicator of how much a student knows.

Colorado’s Menu

Several experts and groups on both sides of the debate point to Colorado as a blueprint for moving away from final exam requirements.

Colorado, which made the switch with the 2021 graduating class, now allows school districts to choose from a range of assessment techniques, such as: B. SAT or ACT scores or evidence of workforce readiness in various skill areas.

A state task force appointed by the Legislature recently recommended some changes to the education accreditation system to “better meet the diverse needs of students and smaller school populations.” This includes creating assessments that adapt to student needs, providing multilingual options, and providing faster results to understand student progress.

The state hopes the range of assessment options will support local flexibility, said Danielle Ongart, deputy commissioner for pathways and engagement at the Colorado Department of Education.

“Depending on what the student wants for themselves, they have the opportunity to show what they know,” she said in an interview. In particular, she said, the menu allows for industry certificates if a student knows what type of work they want to do. These include areas such as computer science or quantum computing.

“It allows students to better understand themselves and explain what they can do, what they are good at and what they want to do,” she said.

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