Resolved: Public high school students in the United States ought be required to pass standardize

Definitions "A standardized test is a test administered and scored in a consistent manner. The tests are designed in such a way that the questions, conditions for administering, scoring procedures, and interpretations are consistent and are administered and scored in a predetermined, standard manner." http://en.wikipedia.org... A high school diploma is issued to mark meeting standards for graduation. 1. Purposes of a diploma What is the purpose of a diploma? One purpose is to build the self-esteem of the person receiving it. That can be done by passing out diplomas to everyone who in some way participates in schooling, but that doesn't serve any valid public purpose. The valid public purpose is to certify a level of competence to prospective employers and to schools beyond high school having admission standards. However, colleges generally have admissions departments that can demand a variety of tests scores and evaluations to suit their particular purposes. I suppose that, for example, Harvard could manage to select applicants without the benefit of high school diploma standards, because they would invest the effort into evaluating SAT scores, teacher evaluations, recommendations, examples of the applicants work like essays, and so forth. That makes qualification for employment the most important use of a diploma. 2. Standardized tests certify level of accomplishment A diploma should certify a certain minimum level of accomplishment. A graduate should have basic competence in reading and writing English and in performing basic math. Those basic skills can be well-established through standardized tests. Without standardized tests, an employer cannot know if the student was simply passed along using "social promotion" or whether the student actually learned the basics. "Social promotion is the practice of passing students along from grade to grade with their peers even if the students have not satisfied academic requirements or met performance standards at key grades. It is called "social" promotion because it is often carried out in the perceived interest of a student's social and psychological well-being. Research suggests that promoting unprepared students does little to increase their achievement or life chances. ... It is difficult to measure how prevalent the practice of social promotion is; it isn't a practice school systems like to admit to using. Some indicators, however, are suggestive. According to the American Federation of Teachers (1997), a majority of teachers reported that they had promoted unprepared students in the past year." Education Week Research Center http://www.edweek.org... Maybe social promotion helps students stay in school and maybe it doesn't. My point is that it adds substantial uncertainty to what a graduating student can be expected to know. Consequently, a standardized test is needed to verify the level of achievement. I am not in favor of standardized tests being developed and administered by the U.S. Department of Education. That makes then too subject to political pressure. The standards for the tests should be provided by the states and the tests built, administered, and graded by an independent organization, much in the way that SAT and similar tests are performed. The level of achievement required for a diploma should, for example, be reading at the 10th grade level and arithmetic at the level of business math. By keeping the tests basic, students who do not do well under the pressure of test conditions can still pass. However, student who cannot muster basic skills under test conditions cannot be expected to call up those skills under job pressures as well, so they ought not receive diplomas. The states currently work cooperatively to establish stands for textbooks, without federal government involvement. They should similarly cooperate in the development of the testing criteria for high school graduation. 3. Standardized tests establish school performance A second reason for requiring standardized tests is to appraise school performance objectively. Without standardized measurement. Educators need to know which schools are producing able graduates and which are not. Standardized tests are the straightforward way of doing that. When evaluating a school as a whole, tests do not need to be extremely precise to be useful. Some students may do better than others in test situation, but the average scores will reflect the average performance. Summary "Employers today consider high school diplomas only as proof that 18-year-olds attended school, according to a study released February 9 by the American Diploma Project, a consortium of three education-reform groups. ... The project's two-year review of education in five states found that more than half of high school graduates need remedial classes in college, and most who attend college never obtain a four-year degree. Employers rated high school graduates as "fair" or "poor" on basic abilities." Education Reporter http://www.eagleforum.org... The US has gotten into a status where a high school diploma does not guarantee a minimum level of competence. Employers need to know that a holder of a high school diploma has certain basic skills, and standardized tests can provide that confidence. Parents and educators also need to know the competence of their schools relative to other schools. Standardized tests accomplish that as well. The resolution is affirmed.