this post was submitted on 23 Sep 2024
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So, just to clarify, you trust your assessment of this test based on a cursory assessment of some sample questions over the consensus of the teacher's union for the state.
...bold
Quick question, what are your qualifications? Why should anyone trust your cursory assessment over those who actually do the job of teaching these students and this test?
Also, I love the "I'm bad at taking tests and would have no problem taking this test, so any argument about this impacting bad test-takers can be ignored." It's simultaneously self-deprecating, a useless anecdote, and completely wrong. Just because you wouldn't struggle to complete this test doesn't make it any less an assessment of how good you are at taking tests vs an actual assessment of what you know. Tests always test, first, your competency at test-taking and, second, your surface level knowledge of a subject. Especially multiple choice tests, like standardized tests.
No, sorry, if this webpage of questions from 2021 is at all a representative sample, then somebody deserving of a high school diploma should be able to answer them, let alone with time to study and retake the assessment as needed. Without appealing to authority absent an actual argument for a second, name literally one sample question you think a functioning member of an educated society shouldn't be able to perform. Even without studying, these are just basic skills an adult should have, and with studying, this should be easily passable. It demonstrates the most basic levels of competency in the fields of reading, writing, mathematics, and science. Those fields aren't the end-all for a well-rounded education, but they're an enormous part of what makes somebody educated enough to find employment, to go on to higher education, or even just do basic things in their daily lives.
As noted in the article, if for some reason you're some extreme exception where you just can't pass the test but do know the material, you can submit e.g. your GPA or your work as proof that you should be exempted. It is "bold" because these questions are easy as fuck, and getting rid of this test further erodes the value of a high school diploma. The average American compared to the rest of the developed world is laughably uneducated, and this will just leave it to under-equipped districts to pass kids through with little actual oversight.
Again, I went into this biased heavily toward the teachers, and this still seems ridiculous. My guess is that Question 2 will succeed by a wide margin because "more tests" is never a popular position, but I suspect that will be to the detriment of kids in underprivileged schools because Massachusetts clearly isn't going into this with any sort of alternative plan.