AAC&U News | October 2004 | Facts & Figures

Report Finds Both Strengths and Shortcomings in High School Exit Exams

In its recent study of high school exit exams, Do Graduation Tests Measure Up? A Closer Look at State High School Exit Exams, Achieve, Inc. surveyed math and English language arts assessments used in six states: Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio, and Texas. Despite differences between state exams, Achieve found that all of the tests emphasize material that students in the U.S. have covered by early in high school. The survey also found that, while current exams do represent an improvement over older state exams, there remains a large gap between what the tests cover and what colleges and employers expect of high school graduates. The report concludes that the tests would be strengthened by the addition of more challenging content and questions. But it also warns that graduation exams alone cannot measure every important aspect of a high school education; instead of relying exclusively on exams, Achieve argues, states should develop a more comprehensive set of assessments that is better aligned with the knowledge and skills students will need in college and in their future careers.

FINDINGS

The Stakes of High School Preparation

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 28 percent of those entering two- and four-year colleges immediately need a remedial English language arts or mathematics course, and half of all students take at least one remedial course during their college careers.
While roughly three-quarters of high school graduates pursue postsecondary education within two years of receiving a diploma, fewer than half ever earn a degree, and students who take remedial classes are less likely than others to finish college.
Using the International Grade Placement index, Achieve found that U.S. high school exit exams require only a seventh- or eighth-grade-level understanding of math concepts.
Using the ACT skills hierarchy, Achieve determined that the English language arts components of current U.S. exit exams currently test for skills expected of eighth- and ninth-graders.

What Exit Exams Actually Measure

Although mathematics exit exams emphasize algebra, geometry, and measurement--skills widely considered prerequisites for success--a majority of the points students can earn are associated with the least demanding topics, such as prealgebra and two-dimensional geometry.
About half of exam questions in math are based on recall or using routine procedures--both low-level cognitive skills. The other half involve more demanding skills such as using non-routine procedures, formulating problems and strategizing solutions, and using advanced reasoning.
Fifty percent of the total points on the English language arts assessments are devoted to basic reading comprehension topics such as vocabulary and general comprehension; only three percent of the points are associated with critical-reading skills such as discerning fact from opinion and faulty from logical reasoning.
There is wide variation between states in writing assessments, with some states emphasizing actual writing, others emphasizing multiple-choice questions about editing, grammar, mechanics, and usage, and others not testing writing at all.

DID YOU KNOW?

Twenty-four states currently either have exit exams or plan to have them in place by 2008; more than half of the nation's high school students now have to pass such exams to earn a diploma.
More than 60 percent of employers rate high school graduates' grammar, spelling, writing, and basic math skills as "fair" or "poor," according to a 2002 study by Public Agenda.
In its American Diploma Project, Achieve found that success in a "good" job requires the same or similar skills as success in credit-bearing college courses.

To learn more, download the full text (PDF) of Do Graduation Tests Measure Up? from Achieve's Web site.