CEP Report on Graduation Testing

The Center on Education Policy has released their annual report on graduation testing in the states. You can read the Executive Summary or the entire report here. The report presents information on the tests administered in the 26 states that have implemented this policy as well as information on state assistance to districts, and interventions and remediation at the local level.

A few of the key findings:

• All states with exit exam policies show gaps in passing rates between various groups of students.
• Although states report that they provide all of these forms of support, it is difficult to tell from a survey whether these forms of assistance are adequate. It is indisputable, however, that gaps persist despite all of these forms of support. There is urgent need to take a closer look at how these supports are used at the district and school level.
• Our case study research has revealed benefits, drawbacks, and perhaps unintended outcomes of exit exam interventions and remediation on passing rates as well as on curriculum and instruction. Benefits include reported increases in passing rates, student effort and motivation, and consistency in instruction and curriculum. Drawbacks include the significant resources districts report spending on exit exam interventions and remediation. Other concerns voiced by teachers, administrators, and students were lack of depth in the curriculum, a decrease in teaching higher-level thinking skills, and a decrease in flexibility in the core curriculum (often through the loss of electives).
• School districts in most states are using a variety of strategies to improve student pass rates on high school exit exams. Not enough is known about the way these efforts impact the educational experiences of students, particularly disadvantaged learners. More research is needed to determine the effect of high school exit exam policy on instruction, curriculum, and student achievement.
  

Two recommendations are presented in the Executive Summary:

• The effectiveness of state exit exam intervention and remediation strategies is largely unknown, and many states do not have the capacity to evaluate these strategies. States and school districts are putting a lot of time, effort, and resources toward increasing passing rates on these exams; states should also develop methods to evaluate and determine the effectiveness of the various strategies they use.
• More attention needs to be given to the impact that high school exit exams are having on curriculum and instruction. While intervention and remediation strategies are used by high schools to help students pass the exit exam, we know very little about the impact of these strategies on students’ educational experiences. Therefore, research aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of high school exit exam policy as a tool for shaping and improving instruction and student performance, especially for disadvantaged students, should be undertaken.