Study: High school exit tests flimsy

[kris]

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (AP) -- High school graduation tests are not "overly demanding" and measure only a small part of the skills considered essential by colleges and employers, according to a study of the exams in six states.

For instance, the math portion of the tests includes material generally taught, internationally, in the eighth grade. And questions that were designed to measure basic comprehension made up half of the reading portion of the tests.

Achieve Inc., a nonprofit group that promotes higher academic standards, looked at the high school graduation tests of Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio and Texas.

Nearly half of all states have high school graduation exams. The six states that volunteered for the study enroll nearly a quarter of the nation's high school students.

The Achieve report, released Wednesday, concluded that the exams in the six states cover "material that most students study early in their high school careers" and that the passing scores established by the states reflect "modest expectations."

The tests in the six states measure "only a fraction" of the knowledge and skills that colleges and employers say is essential, according to Matthew Gandal, who directed the study.

The report judged the math questions on the tests against the results of international research into math and science education in 41 countries.

"The content measured on the tests is taught, on average, at the 8th grade level internationally," the report noted. "The material on the exams states are using as a requirement for high school graduation is considered middle school content in most other countries."

On the reading portion of the tests, researchers compared the material covered to standards set by ACT, which is widely known for its college-entrance exams but which also has a standardized test for students in eighth and ninth grades and another for 10th-graders.

Most of the items on the graduation tests corresponded with material on the ACT tests for students in eighth and ninth grade, the study said.

The researchers said New Jersey had the most rigorous reading test, followed by Texas and Massachusetts.

In Florida, students must pass the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test to graduate. They have several opportunities to take the test, which is first given in the 10th grade. Last year, about 12,000 seniors failed the FCAT.

MacKay Jimeson, a spokesman for the Florida Department of Education, said the state had raised exam standards in the past and would continue to.