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CA Student Fails High School, Sues for Discrimination

xanis

xanis

Lifer
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-5604600,00.html

Wow. Anyone else think these lawsuits are getting a little out-of-hand?

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - To graduate this year, high school senior Nadira Wasi faces a requirement that no class before hers has - the state's high school exit exam.

Wasi, 17, is part of a program for students who need extra assistance in school. She passed the English section but has twice failed the math portion.

On Wednesday, 20 high school seniors and their parents sued the state Department of Education and school Superintendent Jack O'Connell, claiming the exam is illegal and discriminatory. They worry the test may prevent the students from graduating.

``I don't think it should hold up your graduation,'' said Wasi, who is not part of the lawsuit but would be affected if it is successful.

The lawsuit was filed in San Francisco County Superior Court. It seeks a court injunction to delay the consequences of the exam for students in this year's class. Defendants also include the state of California and the state Board of Education.

Lead attorney Arturo Gonzalez said the lawsuit likely will expand to represent tens of thousands of students who have met all local requirements to graduate except passing both sections of the exam.

``Many students in California have not been given a fair opportunity to learn the material on the exam,'' Gonzalez said. ``These are good kids who have worked hard for 13 years to pass their courses.''

Gonzalez said the state failed to study alternatives for students who could not pass the test, particularly sion spokeswoman Hilary McLean said she had no immediate comment on the lawsuit because department officials had not seen it.

But O'Connell, who helped write the exit exam legislation, said last month he had considered alternative assessments for students who fail to pass the exam before deciding against them. The state held a public hearing in December to take comments on its options.

O'Connell has said that students who fail the exam can take another year of high school, get extra tutoring, enroll in summer school or attend community college until they pass. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger included $40 million for tutorial programs in his budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

Nationwide, 23 states have graduation exams and four more are phasing them in by 2012, according to the Washington, D.C.-based Center on Education Policy. Most states offer options for students with special needs and nonnative speakers of English, center president Jack Jennings said.

At the start of this school year, about 100,000 seniors in California had not passed at least one of the sections - more than one-fifth of the state's roughly 450,000 high school seniors.

State officials have said they do not have updated figures, although they say the number is much lower now because students have had several chances to take the exam this school year.
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Graduating high school isn't a right, but that's the way people see it. I'm not surprised this happened in CA, where there seems to be no limit to what people are entitled to. If you don't get want you want but someone else did, then you must have suffered discrimination.

 
Tough break moron. Every student has to take the standardized test, so how is that discriminatory? Each student is given the same opportunity to learn the subject material and take the test. I
I recall friends in my HS not being able to graduate because they didn't pass Regents exams. Big whoop. GED FTW.
 
well``Many students in California have not been given a fair opportunity to learn the material on the exam,'' Gonzalez said. ``These are good kids who have worked hard for 13 years to pass their courses.''

if they worked hard for 13 years they should be able to pass a fricken easy test. IF they can';t they sure were not working hard now were they?


this is a joke. these kids that can not pass it should not be allowed to graduate. But i do have to say that teaching is now all about teaching for stupid standardized test. I would like to see them stopped being used.
 
Eh, I think it's kinda unfair, just one year prior to them didn't have to take it at all and now all of a sudden they're forcing it on the kids, therefore the teachers don't have time to teach this worthless test as well, not to mention those stupid "Star tests" that everykid has to take now... It's all about testing, no time for learning..:roll:
 
Using that logic, the school's would never be able to start using an exam because one class will always need to be the first. It's about time we started holding students accountable for their education. Life isn't a free ride.
 
I don't see discrimination even mentioned in the article? 😕 What kind of discrimination was it? Discrimination against stupid people?
 
they tried the same thing here in mass with the MCAS. the MCAS requires students know at least half of the 10th grade Math and English courses (unless engish isn't your first language, then they waive that test.). they get 4 chances to pass the test and are guarenteed a waiver if they show up for free after school help and still fail. even with that much going for them thousands didn't graduate.
 
Originally posted by: kranky
Graduating high school isn't a right, but that's the way people see it. I'm not surprised this happened in CA, where there seems to be no limit to what people are entitled to. If you don't get want you want but someone else did, then you must have suffered discrimination.
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bingo...this stuff makes me sick...
 
Here in PA, I was supposed to be in the first class affected by the PSSA's. Something happened and it was never implemented.
 
Originally posted by: kranky
Graduating high school isn't a right, but that's the way people see it. I'm not surprised this happened in CA, where there seems to be no limit to what people are entitled to. If you don't get want you want but someone else did, then you must have suffered discrimination.
Click to expand...

 
I think it would depend on circumstances. I transfered to a HS in NY my senior year of HS and had to cram for the exit tests there (the state I came from, KS, did not have any). In that case I do not think it should be required.
 
I can't believe the parents are going along with this. Instead of telling your child that maybe they should study harder and learn something they are telling them to sue? What a great life lesson to be learned. Those parents are idiots.
 
Originally posted by: kranky
Graduating high school isn't a right, but that's the way people see it. I'm not surprised this happened in CA, where there seems to be no limit to what people are entitled to. If you don't get want you want but someone else did, then you must have suffered discrimination.
Click to expand...

And I won't be surprised if this gets to the 9th Circuit Court and the law gets reversed.
 
Originally posted by: waggy
well``Many students in California have not been given a fair opportunity to learn the material on the exam,'' Gonzalez said. ``These are good kids who have worked hard for 13 years to pass their courses.''

if they worked hard for 13 years they should be able to pass a fricken easy test. IF they can';t they sure were not working hard now were they?
Click to expand...
That's exactly what I was thinking. They haven't been given a fair opportunity to learn math in 13 years? :roll:
this is a joke. these kids that can not pass it should not be allowed to graduate. But i do have to say that teaching is now all about teaching for stupid standardized test. I would like to see them stopped being used.
Click to expand...
I think I can also agree with that. But they do also serve the purpose of ensuring one school/district isn't making their courses easier to make the school look better. So we might just be screwed either way. Maybe the tests should stay, but the teachers should just follow a curriculum that happens to include the material they're testing on, rather than taking a month to focus specifically on the material that will be on the standardized tests, especially since that kind of invalidates the purpose of the standardized tests to begin with.
 
WTF?! Are you serious?! There are people suing because they can't pass the test. I took that test. It's ridiculously easy that it is a joke. I can't see for the life of me how someone cannot pass that test. If they can't, they truly shouldn't graduate.
 
I'm anxious to see what the math portion consists of.

And its stupid to call this discrimination. Math is universal and has nothing to do with race, religion, gender or socioeconomic status.
 
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