A new requirement in California forces every 8th grader to enroll in Algebra and take a proficiency exam. This will be the first time students must take an upper-level math test prior to entering high school. The hope is that “the new policy will push school districts to ensure that eighth-graders are ready for the demands [...]

Washington State’s mandatory test, which needs to be passed to receive a diploma, is called the WASL. Recent articles have noted the recent announcement that 91% of the students passed—if you do not count the students who dropped out. By my figuring, this means about 68% of the original class of 2008 passed the state test. [...]

A while back I had a student, Davy, reach the final week of his final semester in high school, and he had a 40% in my senior Mythology course while maintaining an attendance rate of 60% (and I think a blood-alcohol level of 2.0 most of the semester). I wouldn’t budge on giving “extra credit” [...]

I read an article today about high school seniors who are trying to pass the WASL in order to graduate. While I believe a minimum standard is acceptable for students to reach, I also feel that the credits earned should be the standard. However, that is not really my comment for today. I find it odd [...]

Why do so many states create their own state test? I’d love to see every state use the ACT and SAT with every high school student. Maybe each state could divert the funds currently used for their own state tests to pay for all students to take one or both of these national exams. Results could [...]

I often wonder if a partial solution to helping colleges, trade schools, and employers determine the worthiness of students for their programs and businesses is the diploma itself. I anticipate my solution will not be popular among certain groups, but I do think it could eliminate some of debate over assessing student backgrounds and ...