To Exempt or not to Exempt

  So today my goal is to pull back the veil a little, discuss something that most high school teacher grapple with at some point. The exams that go on at the end of the semester and whether we should push for more kids to exempt or less to. Each school takes these exams a little different. Some view them as a way to get information on what is actually learned during the course of a year, while others view them as a way to close out a semester. In my district they are on the fence. We give them as a way to get data, but allow multiple reasons to get out of them including perfect attendance and passing the TAKS test. Teachers also really have conflicting views. I have a friend that exempts as many people as he can, while another friend exempts almost no one. It is one of those things that is truly a teacher preference. I am then left with a conundrum. What is the right way to go? The data that we could gain from a true end of the year assessment is invaluable. We can really gauge what our kids have learned. The data we do get is skewed. It shows only what those kids that have either missed too many days or have a low grade in the class. These kids are important to gauge their learning and really reflect on the way we are presenting difficult topics, but it does not capture the full amount of information that a true final would give. This is tough for teachers that are data driven. Some would argue that they need to give a comprehensive test anyway. I would love to do this, but do not know if I have the time. It is actually easier to adopt the priorities of your district and school. I will have to take data on the lower level kids from now and learn from it. The problem that these exemptions give is that when a kid enters college there is never an exemption granted. No matter what, at the end of the semester you have to show that you know the material. I think the better thing for districts to ask themselves is whether we are doing college bound kids any good by giving them an out from a test? We should also look at why we give these tests in the first place. Is the real point to ready them for college, or is it to gauge their understanding? How do exemptions fit into that new found purpose?

Until Tomorrow,
"Education is that which discloses to the wise and disguises from the foolish their lack of understanding."
-- Ambrose Bierce