Many in Alaska are continuing to try to improve the way we educate our young people. In support of that goal, the Alaska Legislature passed a law in 1997 which enacted competency testing, or the "high school exit exam." I have been asked by the Anchorage Daily News to comment on why we need high school competency testing.

There is a fundamental problem with education in Alaska when our students are able to graduate from high school and receive a diploma without learning the skills necessary to compete in a university setting or in the job market. Businesses are complaining to the Legislature that our schools are putting out a defective product when people who apply for jobs lack high school level skills. Many students applying for entry-level positions cannot read or write well enough to fill out a job application properly. University of Alaska administrators are frustrated by the amount of time their faculty has to devote to teaching students basic reading, language and math skills that they should have mastered before college. The university even came to the Legislature asking for authority to charge school districts for the cost of teaching basic skills.

The public has the right to hold our state's school system accountable for the success or the failure of each student. Alaskans devote the largest portion of the state's General Fund to the Department of Education budget and the students deserve a quality education for that money. We spend more than $720 million per year on educating our children. Additionally, the Legislature gave an extra $6.2 million to the Department of Education for next year (FY 2001) to develop remediation programs in schools to prepare students for the competency tests.

How do we assure the public -- students, parents and the business and university communities -- that our schools are turning out literate students? How do we demonstrate that a high school diploma means real achievement? I think the competency tests will clearly define the level of achievement expected of our high school graduates. Accountability through competency testing is a method that research supports as effective. A recent study by the Fordham Foundation indicates that school choice and standards are showing the most promise in raising achievement test scores. Competency tests will help to assure equal education for all students in Alaska. Every student in our state will be taught to the same standards of reading, language, and math and equally be required to demonstrate that they have met those standards.

What are the goals of competency testing? First, to regain the public's confidence in our system of education by providing concrete evidence that our students are able to produce acceptable high school level work by the time they graduate. Second, to assure the business and university communities that our high school graduates are capable of high school level work. Third, to give meaning to a high school diploma. When a student passes a competency exam, that student will have earned a diploma that means more than a social promotion. Students who pass the tests can be confident of their ability to compete on equal footing with students from all regions of our state, as well as with students across the nation. Fourth, to measure the effectiveness of schools so that meaningful improvement can be made in schools that need it.

Competency testing had extensive hearings and debate in the Legislature. In 1997, the Department of Education was directed to develop tests that would be fair, that would withstand legal challenges, and that would require students in all Alaska schools to demonstrate basic literacy.

As one of Alaska's representatives to the Education Commission of the States, I have had the opportunity to discuss Alaska's high school competency tests with national experts and legislators from other states. Twenty-five other states test student competency for a standard high school diploma. It has been reported that after competency started in Philadelphia, that student test scores rose 12 percent between 1996 and 1999. Three states also have an exit exam for an "Endorsed Diploma" earned after passing a test with a score higher than the minimum required for a regular diploma. "Honors Diplomas" are awarded in three states for even higher test scores.

Seniors in Alaska's class of 2002, the first class required to pass the tests to earn a diploma, have been provided with a fair opportunity to achieve success in the exit exams. Schools in Alaska have had since 1997 to prepare teachers and students for basic literacy and math tests that are fair to all students. In order to avoid a one-time pass-fail situation, testing started with sophomores this past spring so that students, parents, teachers, and administrators would know which students would need help to pass the tests by the time they reached twelfth grade. The competency exam will be offered twice a school year, in the beginning of the school year and again at the end of the school year. If a student does not pass any or all of the three tests when first taken, that student will have five more opportunities to pass the test before graduation. If a student passes all parts of the tests, that student has proved competency and does not have to retake the tests again before graduation. Students who have not been able to pass the tests before graduation and who decide at a later date that a diploma is necessary can retake the tests up to two years after graduation.

Some people think that failing the competency tests will cause students to have low self-esteem. However, I have faith that our children will be able to rise to the challenge. Our children do not want a free ride. They want to be challenged and treated as though their efforts count.

Some people think that disabled students should receive a diploma without passing the competency tests. Dyslexia runs in my family, so I am very aware that some of my family members were not well served by social promotion. Federal law requires that schools must provide disabled students with the help they need to take the test. School districts are planning programs to assist with the wide range of disabilities each school must accommodate. While it will be difficult for some disabled students to pass the exit exam, these students will earn a certificate of attendance, and local school districts can provide students with their individual portfolios showing what they were able to achieve. These portfolios may provide information that is more meaningful to a prospective employer than a meaningless diploma that does not require a student to be able to read, write and do basic math.

Some people fear that many Native students, especially from small Bush communities, will fail the exit exam. I have heard from some rural communities that students'concerns about the competency tests have already improved attendance dramatically. Students are showing up to learn. Others from rural school districts have told me that they are pleased about the exit exams. When their students receive a high school diploma, they will be assured that their diploma has the same meaning as any high school diploma in our state.

I believe in our students, parents, teachers and schools. I believe competency testing is an important, fair, and effective step in improving our public education.

Attachments:

• Text and Legislative History of 1997 Exit Exam Measure
• Practive High School Graduation Qualifying Examination Tests Posted by the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development

| Top | Representative Bunde's Page |