Public High School Students In The United States Ought Not Be Required To Pass SEE's To Graduate

Alright, this should be fun =). I affirm; resolved: public high school students in the United States ought not be required to pass standardized exit exams to graduate. My value today will be societal welfare. Societal welfare is the best value for this round, as the ultimate goal of a high school education is to prepare students to be functional, successful members of society. This is best achieved through the criterion maximizing positive social mobility. Social mobility is the degree to which an individual's family or group's social status can change throughout the course of their life through a system of social hierarchy or stratification. We can best achieve societal welfare by allowing individuals the most opportunities to improve their circumstances. To clarify today's round, I shall define standardized tests as the Garland School District (Texas) does: "Assessments…designed to be administered under specific, standard conditions, resulting in a uniformity in testing environments" C1: Exit Exams Negatively Impact Various Groups A) Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Standardized testing falls the hardest on those who live in poor homes. Family status is a large factor in student performance. Among last year's seniors, those who lived near the poverty line scored 300 points less on the SAT than students in high income homes. High income students managed a relative score increase of 260% compared to students living in poverty. Wayne Camara and Amy Schmidt of the College Board studied factors affecting student performance. They clearly show that middle class children are a third more likely to receive an A average, and twice less likely to receive a below C average than peers living in poverty. If a student had no parents who attended college, they were almost 50% less likely to receive an A average than if even one parent had gone to college. These findings are not unique to their study. In 2005, Columbia University found that by age three, children of professionals had vocabularies twice the size of children on welfare. By twelfth grade, these poor kids are four years behind the wealthy in reading and math. When subjected to a exit exams, disadvantaged kids will inevitably do worse as evidenced by the current bias on standardized tests like the SAT. Exit exams unfairly penalize the poor for factors out of their control – parental income and education. B) Gender lines Standardized tests are inherently more harmful to girls because of their mental approach to problems. Females tend to favor a systematic approach on tests. We hear from educational specialist Peter Sacks "Many scholars believe certain tendencies in the thinking styles…of girls…don't add up to [an]…efficient match for the speeded…pressurized nature of…multiple choice…aptitude tests. They tend to be more focused on the process of learning rather than scoring points in the gamey context of most tests. Girls tend to approach standardized tests with a deliberateness and carefulness that makes them less willing than males to guess at multiple-choice questions, which puts them at a disadvantage. Females taking standardized tests may tend to rely more on methodical skills…-organizing, synthesizing, analyzing-instead of shortcuts and tricks that males more frequently use." In short, females tend to think deliberately – a mindset not encouraged by exit exams. If subjected to one, they would suffer higher rates of failure not because of lack of knowledge, but because of their thinking style. We hear from Debra Viadero, referencing a Stanford University study. "The detrimental effects of the [exit exams] were harder on girls…than on boys. Girls experienced a 19-percentage point drop in graduation rates after the California High School Exit Exam…was implemented [one and half times that of males]." Again, we see exit exams harming a group, in this case because of the way that they think! Because of the methodical way they approach standardized tests, females tend to fail more. C) Dropouts Implementing exit exams leads to an increased incidence of dropouts. This reduces the number of people exposed to the educational system, and precludes dropouts from the benefits of diplomas. As exit exams increase in difficulty, so do dropout rates. Glenn '06: "[University studies] reported that students in states with relatively easy exit exams are roughly 4 percent more likely to drop out of high school than similar students in states with no exams. In states with relatively difficult exit exams, students are 5.5 percent more likely to drop out. In states with more rigorous exit exams [some groups] are 7.3 percent more likely to drop out." Exit exams are strongly correlated with an increase in dropout rates. According to estimates by Professors Warren and Grodsky each percentage point means 35,000 students without diplomas. That means 192,500 students will be pressed into dropping out by high stakes exit exams. Almost 2,000,000 students will be pushed out of the system in 10 years. C2: High School Diplomas are Necessary for Social Mobility Individuals without diplomas have their job prospects and health compromised. Apart from being a huge factor in college admissions, diplomas are a necessity in the job market. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that in 2007 individuals without diplomas had a 20% lower employment rate (56%) than diploma-wielders. The Nashville Metro Schools projected that those who do not receive a high school diploma earn about $260,000 less than a contemporary with said diploma. As Columbia University adds, adults without diplomas are far more likely to depend on food stamps, welfare and public housing. Without diplomas individuals lose social mobility. There are three salient impacts here. First, when girls and the disadvantaged unfairly fail exit exams they experience dramatic negative social mobility. The few of them that manage to get jobs earn a quarter of a million less! ! Lacking the money they need to support themselves they have to turn to public options leading to a deterioration in health. They lose out in all aspects of life because of factors out of their control. Second, exit exams serve only to further entrench people in poverty. Students who come from poor backgrounds are far more likely to fail exit exams, and lose their own social mobility. A large number of students, of all backgrounds, will also be pushed to drop out. Their lower income and education will cause their children suffer the same difficulties. This harm of exit exams extends into the future negatively impacting coming generations. We are only creating further stratification in society – increasing the gap between the rich and poor. Finally, exit exams fall hard on females, because of their systematic thought process! Without diplomas they cannot secure places in college or the job market – leading to male dominance in society. Not only does this create a perceived ceiling for achievement, it will lead to a societal view of females as subordinates and reinforce negative gender stereotypes. Because exit exams are detrimental to society, I urge an affirmative vote