Education Week - February 8, 2023 - 3

Vol. 42 * Issue 21 * February 8, 2023
States Sour on High
School Exit Exams
The number of states requiring students to pass an
exam to receive a high school diploma continues to
fall, a sign that attitudes towards the once-popular
general competency exams have shifted dramatically.
Only eight states still mandate exit exams,
according to an analysis released last month by the
National Center for Fair & Open Testing, or FairTest,
a nonprofit, down from nearly half the states about a
decade ago.
Equity concerns are one reason: Studies link the
tests to higher dropout rates among students of
color and low-income students. But the pandemic
also played a role: New Mexico leaders waived exam
scores for high school students set to graduate in
2024, citing the need for time to focus on teaching
and to catch kids up.
Newer research also suggests that failing an exam
can have big consequences. Even though the population
of kids who tend to fall just above and below the
passing score are almost identical academically, those
who pass are more likely to graduate.
Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New
York, Texas, Virginia, and Wyoming still require students
to pass these exams to graduate. Other states
are turning to " end of course " tests that more closely
match content taught in a specific class, rather than
general knowledge.
Poll: Parents Don't
Want Schools to Focus
on 'Culture Wars'
Despite all the headlines and political rhetoric devoted
to the so-called culture wars in schools, most
parents think a lot of it is much ado about nothing.
More than two thirds of voters and parents say they
are not worried about teachers indoctrinating kids,
pushing a " woke " agenda on them, or teaching critical
race theory, as some Republican lawmakers and
far-right parent groups have been accusing schools of
doing for more than a year.
That's according to a December 2022 poll by the
American Federation of Teachers, which collected
information from more than 1,500 voters, including
558 parents, about their priorities and areas of concern
about public education. The participants in the national
poll were evenly split on the political spectrum.
Fighting indoctrination, the " woke " agenda or the
teaching of CRT are common reasons cited by Republican
lawmakers for introducing or supporting challenges
to books, and legislation that seeks to restricts
teaching and learning certain lessons about race and
racism or limit LGBTQ students' rights in school.
However, new data show that voters don't see those
as important issues. Two-thirds of voters said that
these kinds of culture wars distract public schools
from their core mission of educating students, according
to the poll.
Instead, most parents and voters agreed that school
districts should focus on providing a safe and welcoming
environment for children, ensuring that all children,
regardless of background, have the opportunity
to succeed, making sure students have strong fundamental
skills in reading, math, and science, and developing
students' critical thinking and reasoning skills.
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VIDEO
This School Is a
Model for Wellness
and Student Learning.
See Why
The first high school to be WELL
Certified at the gold level hopes
to serve as inspiration to others.
edw.link/WellnessVideo
4 Will Schools Actually Ditch
Snow Days for Virtual Learning?
4 Seattle District Sues Social Media
Companies Over Students' Mental Health
6 College Board Releases AP African
American Studies Framework, Runs Into
Anti-CRT Laws
7 Districts Are Stocking Up On Naloxone
But Drug Prevention Is Uneven
8 School Foundations Shift Focus to Students'
Mental Health as Need Grows
8 The IRS Increased the Teacher
Tax Deduction. Will It Help?
10 More Schools Are Offering Student Mental
Health Days. Here's What You Need to Know
11 COVID Relief Funds Dry Up Next Year.
Here's How Districts Can Cope
12 Schools Use Therapy Dogs to Boost
Mental Health, Academics
OPINION
14 The Road to Historical Maturity
15 We Don't Teach Enough About
Black Fear in U.S. History
16 Africana Studies Can Save
Education-and the World
20 Black History Belongs in
Early Elementary School
DEPARTMENTS
2 Briefly Stated
5 What the Research Says
17 Letters to the Editor
19 EdWeek Top School Jobs
EDUCATION WEEK | February 8, 2023 | www.edweek.org | 3
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Education Week - February 8, 2023

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