Students not keen on high school exit exams

DES MOINES - The school system that some of the state's best and brightest students envision sounds a lot like what the country's best universities strive for.

Lecture-style classes have given way to project-focused, tech-infused classrooms. Teachers are engaged and hold high expectations for their students who tote laptops and tablets (not paper notebooks) to classes that they have chosen to match up with their career goals.

Career fairs and job shadowing opportunities abound, and all students take rigorous standardized tests but get assistance in subject matters when they come up short.

That was the vision that emerged from the minds six Iowa high school students who were invited to the Iowa State Fair to discuss education policy with Gov. Terry Branstad, Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds and Linda Fandel, the governor's special adviser on education.

Led by Fandel, the hour-long conversation touched on topics such as a mandatory exit exam to graduate high school to how the students thought senior year could be made more meaningful.

“One of the most interesting things I heard was that the best teachers have high expectations for all students,” Fandel said. “I think that's a hard thing to legislate or put into rules, but it's something we really need to encourage, the culture of learning in schools. A lot of teachers do have high expectations for all kids, but we need to get to a point where all teachers do.”

The conversation took place in front of a small crowd at the Penningroth Media Center inside the Cattle Barn on the fairgrounds. It was the fourth of four roundtables convened as part of the two-day Iowa Education summit that took place in July. The three previous roundtables included business leaders, teachers and school administrators.

The summit, which included more than 60 speakers and panelists to discuss education reform, was promoted as a catalyst for a legislative package that the administration plans to introduce to the General Assembly in January. The goal of the legislation is to set in place new policies that will help Iowa return to the top of the list of states whose children score well on national and international tests.

Asked to bring one idea on how to make this happen, several students mentioned setting up a system in which students could explore different career opportunities and then take classes that help them reach that goal.

“I think students need to find what they are passionate about,” said Derick Perkins, a (Arlington) Starmont High School student who plans to study plant and crop genetics in college. “I think a lot of students get to college, thinking they know what they want to do, but they don't after they try it.”

The idea that students should take an exit exam to graduate high school didn't go over too well.

“I think if you pass all your classes, you should be able to graduate, not just how you do on one test,” said Danielle Hubbard, a Van Meter Junior-Senior High School student who wants a career in public relations. “Otherwise, some kids who are afraid of taking the test might just drop out and go get their GED.”

A high-stakes standardized test is one of the ways, Fandel said, to ensure that teachers have high expectations for their students, because there is a definitive goal they aim for. She said the problem with some high-stakes tests is they aren't aligned to curriculum, which is a situation that could be fixed.

Still, Fandel wouldn't say if a high school exit exam, or even a requirement that all students take the ACT or SAT, would be part of the administration's recommendations.

“I thought it was going to be down to business and they were going to stick to the questions and it was going to be so strict and I was going to be so nervous,” said Juana Hollingsworth a student at Waterloo's East High School. “But soon as I got up there it was really relaxed, and I got to answer the questions.”