¶ … California-wide high school exit examination show that most students are ill-prepared to graduate. The test was implemented by Governor Davis as an attempt to improve public school accountability. Although the test is slated to come into effect officially for the graduating class of 2004, students statewide have taken the test on a voluntary basis since their freshman year. Less than half of all students statewide could pass both the English and math portions of the test. Because performance levels were so poor, state school board officials wonder whether or not they should postpone the implementation of the exams. However, rather than postpone implementing the test, the school board plans to introduce new after school and weekend programs to prepare students for the material. Critics of the exit examination point to the wide differentiation in scores between rich and poor and also among different racial groups. For example, over the past two years,...
However, less than one-third of African-Americans and Latinos have passed both sections. Civil rights groups are up in arms about the exams and are questioning the test's legality and ethical fairness. One public advocacy attorney in San Francisco is filing a lawsuit against the state, accusing the state government of under-funding schools in poor neighborhoods. The quality of facilities, teachers, and textbooks in poor school districts is lower than that in wealthier districts, according to such advocacy groups. This substandard quality of secondary education directly leads to the gap between rich and poor in the exit examination test results.Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
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