Who To Blame For Student Failure?

As I finish up my grading for the Spring 2006 semester while listening to the news reports about a judge blocking the use of the California high school exit exam, thoughts of who should be responsible when students fail a class have been crossing my mind. If a student fails a class, is the person teaching the material responsible, or is it the student or is it some complicated shared responsibility?

Apparently nearly 47, 000 graduating high school seniors or 11% of the total failed the high school exit exam.

However, this means that nearly 90% of the students have passed the two-part exam, which is set at the 10th grade English level and the 8th grade mathematics level. Saturday's Los Angeles Times reports that "of the 46, 700 seniors who have failed the test, 20,600 are designated as limited English learners and 28,300 are poor." Judge Robert B. Freedman said he was "swayed by the argument that many impoverished and minority students — particularly those learning English as a second language — attend low-performing schools that do not prepare them adequately for the test." The judge also believed that at least 160 needy schools had not recieved any of some $20 million specifically appropriated by the Legislature to assist schools with preparing for the 2006 implementation of the exit exam.

My State Senator Gloria Romero was quoted by the Times in a statement applauding the decision to stay the implementation of the exit exam. "The judge's decision strips away the facade of claims that equal education is being provided in every one of our state's schools."

I agree with Senator Romero that it is clear that there is not an equal education being provided in each of the state's public schools, but I disagree that the judge's decision should be applauded. I think the message that is sent by not implementing consequences for failing the exit exam is far more damaging to the state's educational objectives.

Interestingly, Los Angeles Times columnist/blogger and Occidental College adjunct professor Bob Sipchen agrees with me in Monday's edition of the paper.