ASBJ: Dropouts Linked to Exit Exam

The January American School Board Journal included a small news item that warrants attention, so we're posting it here:

"Do high school exit exams provide an accurate measure of student performance? Or do they push students who are on the academic bubble to drop out before getting a diploma?

In California, the answer appears to be the latter, according to a report presented to the state Board of Education in November. The analysis found that 2006 graduation rates fell by 4 percent, and 10,000 more seniors dropped out than four years earlier."