California High School Exit Exam: An Alternative

This year (2006) special education students will recieve a waver from needing to pass the high school exit exam for this year only. However, all other seniors will have to pass in order to recieve a diploma. I do believe all students must be accountable for knowing a certain amount of information and how to read, write and do math at a basic level. Not all students can do a paper and pencil type test to demonstrate their level of compentancy. I believe students should have a choice of assessment. I have been involved in a great deal of research demonstrating that doing a qualitative senior project carries a great deal of more weight with employers and higher education professionals than paper and pencil high stakes testing. Senior Projects involve a rigorous research20-page paper, extensive interviews with professionals in the field the students are researching, and a presentation in front of a panel of judges that include teachers, school board members, parents and peers. That takes care of the reading and writing assessment. The math assessment should be done with the high school math curriculum with the math department chair signing off on the students basic proficiency level. I think this is a far better assessment alternative than the California High School Exit Exam.