Students in Orange County, California express their ideas about the California High School Exit Exam a week before taking it. For sophomores, it's their first crack. Some students in the upper classes are tackling it for the second, third or even fourth time. Then there are those seniors with their last chance to pass. If they fail, they don't get a diploma. The exam tests students on basic math and English skills. It became a graduation requirement starting with the Class of 2004.
Fourteen students at Bronx Leadership Academy II, a small public high school in New York City, highlight their "insider knowledge" as urban youth. In their inquiry, known as "SAT Bronx", they create their own take on standardized tests, share new knowledge about who knows what and why it matters.
The San Francisco Chronicle asked students: Thirteen years of school, 43 classes, 2,223 school days, and no diploma—all because of another standardized test? The California High School Exit Exam may be preventing dozens of students at my school alone from graduating. Is it worth it?
John Wood, a nongraduate of Federal Hocking High School, in Stewart, Ohio, explains that despite being sixth in his class he did not graduate because he refused to take the Ohio Proficiency tests. He writes, "I did this because I believe these high-stakes tests (which are required for graduation) are biased, irrelevant, and completely unnecessary."
Linda Shaw of the Seattle Times reports on videos created by Rainier Beach High School freshmen to raise concerns about the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL).
Students from across the nation answer: Is the No Child Left Behind Act helping the education system in the United States?
Unlike most public hearings on NCLB, this one was planned for students. It provided a forum for the group that is perhaps most affected by law. And, given this chance, they were eager to be heard.