The Providence Student Union thought it was wrong that a single high-stakes exam should determine whether they graduate.
To prove their point, they invited legislators, educators, and community leaders to take the test. The test was made up of released items. The results will be released later this week.
Hats off to the brave adults who took the risk.
Here is the students' press release:
Diane Ravitch blogs on the experiment this weekend in Providence where adults took the NECAP to see what it measures. Yay!
HAHA-I’D GET A ZERO IN MATH FOR SURE
Seriously-we had a decent system in NYC in the time I was in HS(1960-63)-you could take the Regents Exams and receive an Academic Diploma,or not take them and receive a General,or be in the commercial program and receive a Commercial Diploma or attend one the many vocational high schools and receive a Vocational Diploma.How is it we can’t have programs suitable for diverse needs today?Ones that actually work?We can’t squeeze everyone into a single mold-that works in military basic training but not in general education.
I agree with Joe about the utility of diverse diplomas.
I note the math community is divided about the idea of algebra-for-all. My view is some familiarity with using formulas, understanding rate-of-growth, percentages, descriptive statistics, what large numbers mean (loosely called quantitative literacy) can be the basis for minimum graduation requirements, but factoring, quadratic equations, manipulating algebraic fractions, trigonometry, should not be required.