From an article in the Daily Report Card:
-> ->In the wake of the low student pass rate, committee members
-> re-grouped and decided to phase in the test standards.  For
-> example, the passing score will be lowered the first year by five
-> points on the math and reading sections.  The passing scores will be
-> raised one point each year, beginning in 1997-1998, until the
-> 2001-2002 school year, notes the paper.
Ron comments:
-> What a novel solution!  Grades are too low, so we simply
-> lower the passing requirement!  Poof.. Problem goes away!
Actually, it does seem reasonable to me to make a transition. Going from
"no standards" to "tough standards" in one year might be too much. Give
the schools, teachers, and students some time to adjust to new
expectations.
Even the AP program does this when they are making changes. The change
to requiring graphing calculators on the Calculus exam was discussed for
a number of years before it went into effect. The AP Comp Sci exam will
switch from Pascal to C++ beginning with the 1998 exam, but that change
has been long announced and discussed.
You're being TOO cynical, Ron!
Sheila
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