From the Dec. 18, 1996 Daily Report Card:
-> *2   ON AGAIN, OFF AGAIN:  MASS. BOARD OF ED DECIDES FATE OF GED
-> Mass. high school seniors will be required to take the
-> General Educational Development test this spring, but they will not
-> face a "scarlet letter" on their diploma if they do not pass
-> (Cornell, BOSTON HERALD, 12/12).  During a "volatile" meeting,
-> the state board of education turned down the request of Gov.
-> William Weld (R) and Board President John Silber to mark "GED
-> FAILED" on student diplomas.  "The governor and I don't control the
-> Board of Education," said Silber, after the meeting.
->    "You don't always get every idea translated into action,"
-> remarked Weld.  "Silber and I thought the scarlet letter would be an
-> enforcement mechanism.  But we both got the test
-> administered."  Silber added that there will be consequences,
-> since "the record will show to their parents if their child has
-> passed or failed."
->    However, legislation has been formulated to prevent the
-> state DoEd from allocating the $600,000 it costs to administer
-> the GED exam.  "The GED is a gimmick," said Rep. Harold Lane Jr (D),
-> who filed the bill.  "It's a bad idea that should be
-> reversed."
->    Some lawmakers prefer that Silber concentrate whole-
-> heartedly on raising standards and producing tests tied to those new
-> standards, as determined by the state's education reform
-> legislation.  Weld and three key legislators sent a "strongly
-> worded" letter to Silber earlier this month that stressed the
-> importance of giving the highest priority to these parts of the
-> education reform agenda (Avenoso, BOSTON GLOBE, 12/11).  "They
-> were trying to get [Silber] to focus on the pressing issues, to say
-> 'first things first,'" a source told the GLOBE.
->    Alexis Vagianos, the student representative on the board,
-> called the GED proposal a "waste of money."  Vagianos:  "Students
-> don't want to take a test that has consequences, because that
-> wouldn't be fair.  Without consequences, they aren't going to
-> take it seriously."
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