更多州放弃考试作为高中毕业要求
【中美创新时报2024 年 11 月 17 日编译讯】（记者温友平编译）当马萨诸塞州选民决定在选举日放弃该州的标准化考试作为高中毕业要求时，他们加入了一种趋势，这种趋势在过去二十年中一直在稳步削弱高风险考试的使用。美联社 STEVE LeBLANC 对此作了下述报道。
投票结果显示，只有七个州强制要求进行毕业考试，这个数字可能很快会进一步减少。
人们对标准化考试的强烈反对源于人们对标准化考试占用了太多课堂时间的抱怨，以及人们对标准化考试如何衡量学生对大学或职业的准备程度的质疑。近年来，由于对公平性和 COVID-19 大流行期间学习挫折的担忧，这一运动愈演愈烈。
在马萨诸塞州，一个教师工会领导了反对毕业要求的运动，认为这阻碍了太多学生获得文凭，并对学校课程的选择产生了过大的影响。另一方得到了包括前纽约市市长迈克尔·布隆伯格和民主党州长莫拉·希利在内的知名商界领袖和州政府官员的支持。
“我们不应该根据学生居住的邮政编码对他们有不同的期望，”希利说。“我们应该对我们的期望统一，对我们的学生和我们的家庭来说，这些期望应该很高。”
马萨诸塞州综合评估系统测试包括数学、科学和技术以及英语。投票问题并没有结束这些测试，这些测试也用于评估学生的进步。但通过这些测试将不再是获得文凭的必要条件。
马萨诸塞州大约 1% 的高中毕业生（约 700 名学生）每年被拒绝颁发文凭，因为他们没有通过 MCAS，尽管他们满足了其他要求。大多数学生都是英语学习者或残障学生。
其他州可能会取消类似的考试
据美国最大的教师工会全国教育协会称，在 2000 年代中期，多达 27 个州要求学生通过考试才能毕业。目前仍有考试的州是纽约州、佛罗里达州、路易斯安那州、俄亥俄州、新泽西州、德克萨斯州和弗吉尼亚州。
在纽约州，州政府官员本月提出了逐步取消毕业考试要求的时间表，作为毕业标准改革的一部分。学生仍将参加数学、英语、科学和社会研究的摄政考试，但从 2027-28 学年开始，及格分数将不再是获得文凭的必要条件。该计划将为学生提供社区服务或顶点项目等替代方案，以证明其熟练程度。
今年早些时候，佛罗里达州参议院通过了一项法案，该法案将取消高中毕业的考试要求，但该推动在众议院受阻。在新泽西州，一项旨在取消该州毕业考试的法案去年在州议会获得通过，但随后未能在参议院获得通过。
在俄亥俄州，学生必须通过阅读、写作、数学、科学和社会研究方面的考试才能毕业。路易斯安那州也要求学生通过考试，并且是唯一没有上诉程序的州。在德克萨斯州，学生必须通过代数、英语、生物和美国历史的期末评估。
关于如何衡量准备程度的争论仍在继续
FairTest 的执行董事 Harry Feder 反对将考试作为毕业要求，他说，放弃他所说的“廉价而简单的教育方式”的考试是有道理的。
“我们对高中毕业生的要求不能通过标准化考试很好地衡量，”他说，包括学生是否具有批判性思考能力、解决问题能力或能够合作。
批评人士表示，放宽毕业要求将导致标准降低。
右翼的福特汉姆研究所所长迈克尔·佩特里利表示：“反对 MCAS 的投票再次表明了蓝州教师工会的压倒性力量，这将使马萨诸塞州的文凭变成参与的奖杯。”
取消马萨诸塞州考试要求的资金支持主要来自教师工会，包括马萨诸塞州教师协会（该协会捐赠了数百万美元的直接和实物捐款）和国家教育协会（该协会捐赠了至少 50 万美元）。另一方面，布隆伯格为支持保留该要求的活动捐赠了 250 万美元。
马萨诸塞州教师协会主席 Max Page 和副主席 Deb McCarthy 表示，教师们十多年来一直在反对这项要求。
“由于这项要求，通过课程的学生被拒绝颁发文凭，”他们说。“教育工作者被迫缩小课程范围，以便针对高风险考试进行教学。”
最终，马萨诸塞州选民以 59% 对 41% 的优势批准取消 MCAS 作为毕业要求。
题图：2006 年 12 月 11 日，波士顿社区领导力学院试点高中 10 年级英语教师 Beth Noell（左）在波士顿帮助 17 岁的 Natashia Ector 准备马萨诸塞州综合评估系统考试的英语部分。Stephan Savoia/美联社
附原英文报道：
More states are ditching exams as high school graduation requirements
By STEVE LeBLANC The Associated Press,Updated November 16, 2024
Boston Community Leadership Academy pilot high school 10th-grade English teacher Beth Noell, left, helps Natashia Ector, 17, prepare for the English portion of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System test, on Dec. 11, 2006, in Boston.Stephan Savoia/Associated Press
When Massachusetts voters decided to ditch the state’s standardized tests as a high school graduation requirement on Election Day, they joined a trend that has steadily chipped away at the use of high-stakes tests over the past two decades.
The vote on the ballot question leaves only seven states with mandated graduation exams, a number that could soon shrink further.
A backlash to standardized tests has been fueled by complaints they take up too much classroom time and questions about how well they measure readiness for college or careers. It has gained steam in recent years with concerns about equity and learning setbacks during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Massachusetts, a teachers union led the campaign against the graduation requirement, arguing it was keeping too many students from receiving a diploma and weighing too heavily on choices about school curriculum. The other side received backing from prominent business leaders including former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and state officials including Gov. Maura Healey, a Democrat.
“We shouldn’t have different expectations for students depending on which zip code they live in,” Healey said. “We should have a uniformity to our expectations and they should be high for our students and our families.”
The Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System tests are given in mathematics, science and technology and English. The ballot question didn’t end the tests, which are also used for assessing student progress. But passing them will no longer be required for a diploma.
About 1 percent of high school seniors in Massachusetts, about 700 students, are denied a diploma each year because they failed the MCAS despite meeting other requirements. Most are English language learners or students with disabilities.
Other states could abandon similar tests
In the mid-2000s, a high of 27 states required students to pass an exam to graduate, according to the National Education Association, the nation’s largest teachers union. The states that still have them, for now, are New York, Florida, Louisiana, Ohio, New Jersey, Texas and Virginia.
In New York, state officials this month proposed a timeline to phase out exit exam requirements as part of an overhaul of graduation standards. Students would still take Regents exams in math, English, science and social studies, but beginning in the 2027-28 school year, passing scores would no longer be required for a diploma. The plan would give students alternatives like community service or capstone projects to demonstrate proficiency.
Earlier this year, the Florida Senate passed a bill that would remove testing requirements for high school graduation, but the push stalled in the House. In New Jersey, a bill to end the state’s graduation exam passed the state Assembly last year but then failed to pass the Senate.
In Ohio, students must pass tests in reading, writing, mathematics, science and social studies to graduate. Louisiana also requires students to pass a test and is the only state without an appeals process. In Texas, students must pass end-of-course assessments in algebra, English, biology and US history.
Debate continues over how to measure readiness
Harry Feder, executive director of FairTest, which opposes using tests as graduation requirements, said it makes sense to shift away from the tests he calls a “cheap and easy way” to conduct education.
“What we want out of high school grads isn’t measured very well by a standardized test,” he said, including whether students are critical thinkers, problem solvers or able to collaborate.
Critics say easing the graduation requirement will result in lower standards.
“The vote against the MCAS is yet another sign of the overwhelming power of the teachers unions in blue states, and will turn Massachusetts diplomas into nothing but participation trophies,” said Michael Petrilli, president of the right-leaning Fordham Institute.
Financial support for the elimination of the Massachusetts test requirement largely came from teachers unions, including the Massachusetts Teachers Association, which contributed millions in direct and in-kind donations, and the NEA, which donated at least $500,000. On the other side, Bloomberg contributed $2.5 million to the campaign in favor of keeping the requirement.
Massachusetts Teachers Association President Max Page and Vice President Deb McCarthy said teachers have been speaking out against the requirement for more than a decade.
“Students who were passing their courses were being denied diplomas because of this requirement,” they said. “Educators were forced to narrow the curriculum in order to teach to the high-stakes test.”
Ultimately, Massachusetts voters approved getting rid of the MCAS as a graduation requirement by a margin of 59 percent to 41 percent.
