Oregon Loosens Requirements

Ah yes, the dumbing down of America. Keep ‘em fat, dumb and happy seems to be the ulterior motive. Keep the lemmings coming back for more handouts.

USA grades 1 through 12 has been falling behind the rest of the western world for years.

A nation's future is only as good as its' education.

Is this about equity or equality?

Holy misrepresentation of information.

They've found that some of the ways they were implementing assessments were discriminatory in nature, so they're seeking to correct that. Quote from the article: "“We haven’t suspended any sort of assessments,” state board member Vicky López Sánchez, a dean at Portland Community College, said during a recent board of education meeting. “The only thing we are suspending is the inappropriate use of how those assessments were being used. I think that really is in the best interest of Oregon students.”

They're not suspending all requirements, just standardized testing as a requirement for graduation. They're even still administering standardized tests, but not using them as the benchmark for whether or not a student graduates, being that they found them to be discriminatory, and don't improve outcomes after graduation. They're moving towards better ways to assure that students are prepared post-graduation, and not just passing arbitrary tests that are unequally yoked, and have no bearings on their preparedness/success going forward. There's still an evaluative process in those areas that takes place for graduation, meaning there are still requirements for graduation. Just not discriminatory/irrelevant ones.

Quote by DanielleX

Is this about equity or equality?

Equity that hopefully moves towards justice.

Quote by Tantaleyes

Schools should be about educating children Even though Chicago Public Schools ended social promotion before I got into HS, several of the job offers I received after graduating were conditional on my taking a written “demonstration” that was really a test to make sure I could read, write, and do simple arithmetic.

Apparently their first impression of you left them in doubts about your basic skills.

Quote by Dani

Holy misrepresentation of information.

They've found that some of the ways they were implementing assessments were discriminatory in nature, so they're seeking to correct that. Quote from the article: "“We haven’t suspended any sort of assessments,” state board member Vicky López Sánchez, a dean at Portland Community College, said during a recent board of education meeting. “The only thing we are suspending is the inappropriate use of how those assessments were being used. I think that really is in the best interest of Oregon students.”

They're not suspending all requirements, just standardized testing as a requirement for graduation. They're even still administering standardized tests, but not using them as the benchmark for whether or not a student graduates, being that they found them to be discriminatory, and don't improve outcomes after graduation. They're moving towards better ways to assure that students are prepared post-graduation, and not just passing arbitrary tests that are unequally yoked, and have no bearings on their preparedness/success going forward. There's still an evaluative process in those areas that takes place for graduation, meaning there are still requirements for graduation. Just not discriminatory/irrelevant ones.

Well, this information debunks the "Oregon has lost their minds" nature insinuated in the original post.

A lot of standardized tests are bunk anyhow.

Quote by Buz

A lot of standardized tests are bunk anyhow.

Yep. I promise no college, trade school, job, etc. cares about whatever state-level standardized test high schoolers have to take to graduate. Most private schools don't require them at all. Many colleges are doing away with the GRE, SAT, ACT, etc. exams as required for entry into their programs because statistically and generally speaking, they’re just not an indicator of how well someone is going to perform academically. Plus lots of them have been found to be biased against, you guessed it, marginalized communities. What ends up happening when standardized test become, well, the standard for curriculums is that school districts focus on teaching students how to pass the test instead of finding more productive ways to demonstrate learning outcomes and actually maintain them post-graduation.

I took the ACT and SAT with no prep, and scored just enough to have the minimum scores to be accepted into my top 3, so I didn't try for a higher score, which is what others often do to get closer to their desired outcome. Neither of them were my peak academic performances. There are people I know for a fact who were higher academic achievers than me (and I’m a fucking high academic achiever myself), some even tutored me, but just weren’t the best test-takers, so actually scored lower than me. The standardized tests mean fuck-all.

Quote by Buz

USA grades 1 through 12 has been falling behind the rest of the western world for years.

A nation's future is only as good as its' education.

So by Western world you mean Asian countries?

Quote by ElCoco

Maybe someday, when you try to get into a university, you'll wish your standardized test scores were high like mine were.

Not only is this one of the saddest things I've ever read on the internet, it's also irrelevant to the topic at hand. Please stay on track. Thanks.

Quote by Ironic

Oregon's decision to remove proficiency in reading, writing, and math for graduation means a prospective employer can't assume those capabilities in job applicants who have an Oregon HS diploma.

This is incorrect.

The students still have to demonstrate proficiencies in these areas in order to obtain an Oregon HS diploma. They've just suspended the use of standardized testing to demonstrate these proficiencies.

Quote by Ironic

You're wrong.

From the linked page, "Students in the K–12 system will not be held to an academic graduation standard for another four years."

That's why a prospective employer can't assume those capabilities in job applicants with an Oregon HS diploma.

Per the state of Oregon Essential Skills Graduation Requirement:

“SB 744 applies to the assessment of Essential Skills requirements for receiving a Regular or Modified Diploma and does not suspend the local performance assessment requirements for students in grades 3-8 and at least once in high school. Though not related directly to assessment, it is important to note that the education plan, education profile, and extended application graduation requirements remain in place, as well.”

The state of Oregon did not alter or remove the existing requirement in state law that students still have to obtain at least 24 credits, including English, math, and science, in order to get a diploma. Though less standardized, it’s still a substantial form of proof of basic academic competency. Additionally, if students need to further demonstrate competencies in these areas in order to receive a diploma, they’re asked to provide additional work such as writing samples and subject-related projects to supplement their course work.

Prospective employers can rest assured that any graduate has demonstrated their competency and proficiency using any combination of the above to earn their diploma.

Quote by Tantaleyes

Since it's not standardized the employer can't rely on the HS diploma. It's like the issue had here when the employer couldn't assume the student did the work needed to move from grade to grade.

They'll develop their own tests.

The graduation requirements are still standardized. Obtain the right amount of credits by earning the minimum grade required in each glass, which is earned by sufficiently assignments that follow the same curriculum. If one falls short somehow, this is when supplemental demonstrations become a factor. Tests aren’t the only way to standardize things.

Quote by Tantaleyes

We all have opinions, but it's the company's HR department that makes the decision.

Being that this thread isn’t about HR departments, you’ll have to take up this mantle elsewhere. Thanks.