Jun 19 2009
Democrats to eliminate CAHSEE
The Democrats unveiled their completed budget proposal yesterday. Among the items in the proposal - eliminate the graduation requirement that high school graduates must pass the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE).
Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (D) states, “Why would you hold students accountable to meet a standard that we are not providing funding to meet?” Sorry. There must be some confusion. This is the CASHEE. The exam that tests Math at an 8th grade level and English at a 9th grade level. How are high school seniors, graduates, not having the resources to meet these standards in the first place? The plan will save less than $10 million per year statewide.
The CASHEE was the first real accountability standard in place for high schools. It prevented students from being social promoted right through graduation. 90% of the 2008 graduating class had passed the exam by May 2008. Students are given chances to start taking the exam in 10th grade, and students who do not do well are given remedial tutoring.
The bigger story should be that there are students in 10th grade that cannot pass an exam that tests things they should’ve learned. The school system is about social promotion - don’t hold the student back until they learn the basics, like reading comprehension - instead pass them up and let them be someone else’s problem. This isn’t the solution.
In a budget deficit where the numbers grow larger every day, the Conference Committee actually spent time debating a move that saves around $10 million a year, or less. $10 million. The budget deficit, this morning, was put at $24.3 billion. They spent time on $10 million.
What the Democrats really did was took an opportunity to try and slip a policy change into the budget. This is a policy change, not a budget solution. The California Teacher’s Association (CTA) has hated the CASHEE since it began. The reason they give is that students should be able to graduate high school without a mandatory exam. Why? Because the CTA doesn’t want their teachers held accountable. The CTA likes the current system of tenure without accountability. Therefore, anything that smells of accountibility is not somthing the CTA likes. The CTA is a major Democratic donor. So when the opportunity arises, the Democrats do what they can for the CTA.
Elimination of the CASHEE is a mistake. The CASHEE is the only standard that all high schoolers, college bound or not, must meet in California. Having a standard means that a California high school diploma means something, that the student has met a certain standard. Without the CASHEE the diploma will go back to meaning nothing.
The Democrats don’t mind this. They say that the schools will have more flexibility with funds if they don’t have to remediate students who don’t pass the CASHEE in 10th grade. Instead, they can spend the funds on something else? Really? Not remediate students who cannot meet basic goals of grades they already passed? That is a failure of the school system.
Keep the CASHEE. Keep the standard. Keep the high expectations of the students, they will rise to meet them.
