Perhaps you are not familiar with the acronym SNAFU. And, perhaps you are aghast that I would juxtapose such an acronym with an educational acronym, EOC. To be blunt, however, what we have here is a snafu called EOC.
End of Course Exams, or EOC, sound so reasonable on paper: At the end of each of 12 major core high school subjects students take a standardized test on that subject. These tests are called End of Course Exams, and are a component of the newly implemented STAAR High Stakes Standardized Testing program in Texas. (If you like acronyms, you know we are moving from TAKS to STAAR having already finished with TAAS, TEAMS and TABS.) In truth, the TAKS test was tough on high school teachers and students because the 9th grade Math TAKS test, for instance, not only tested students on some algebraic concepts, it also covered some 8th and 7th grade content as well. Made it tough to teach algebra and prepare kids for a 9th grade math test. Now we have an Algebra EOC and that makes much more sense, theoretically.
The snafu is that the Legislature and now TEA and the State Board of Ed. are all in the grading game. Because those groups do not understand high schools, grades, GPA, graduation requirements, etc., they have created a real mess. We are required to count the EOC as 15% of the student's final grade in a course. Sounds simple. Not. Students are required to pass the EOCs for Algebra II and English III . Students are required to have cumulative average on all 12 EOCs to graduate. Further, the state allows students to re-take EOC exams if they so choose. All that sounds pretty good until we get to the ground level where we are trying to implement these policies.
Let's say I am a highly competitive, high achieving student and my ambition is to graduate in the top 10% of my class. (Or, at least that is what my parents want for me.) I take Algebra in 9th grade. I have an A average on all my homework, tests, finals, etc. Now I take the EOC. I do not do well and score in the mid 60's. That becomes 15% of my grade so my final average for the course drops from say a 93 to a 88 and I make a B in Algebra. I can re-take the Algebra EOC to help my cumulative EOC score, but when I do, should the new score count on my Algebra grade and my GPA? If so, is there a limit to the number of times I can take it? If not, why not? Why can't I simply wait until I have taken Algebra II my junior year then come back and take the Algebra I EOC. I should really ace it then!
On the other hand, let's say I'm a bright kid, but I hate going to class, doing homework, etc. I get zeros on all my classwork, but when tests roll around I knock the top off. Going into my Algebra EOC I have a failing average, but I score at the top of the curve on the EOC test. I am in the superior achievement category! But, my score is not high enough at 15% to pull my regular course grade up to passing. Should I be given credit for Algebra? Why not? I have more than demonstrated mastery. Should my EOC count more than 15%? Should I be allowed to opt for my EOC to count 100%? State law says it should count 15%, but says nothing about it counting more.
Add to all of the above the fact that we will have seniors who take an EOC in May and must await outcomes that will not be returned until sometime late June or July, and those outcomes determine whether they actually graduate or not. Shall we simply allow all seniors who complete their coursework to participate in graduation? Or, should we say you must have passed everything, including your EOCs to graduate? If so, do we bump graduation to July? Snafu.
There are a host of other issues. What do we do with 1/2 credits? What do we do if parents want to double up their child's math and/or science in a lower grade so they do not have EOCs their senior year and by so doing we kill elective programs and have to re-staff our teaching core? Etc., etc. What do we do with athletic eligibility if a student's cumulative EOC score is not high enough to graduate? The problem for school systems is to implement policies in a way that will be fair and equitable for all and still comply with state mandates. The requirement that EOCs count toward a grade, the reality that grades counts toward GPA, and the student opportunity to re-take the test multiple times creates more and more confusion.
We could say that if you get a top score on the EOC your 15% is "100." Pass and your score is "95." Fail, regardless of grade, and your score is "69." If we do that, most students will be helped and we minimize the impact of the EOC on the grading process. Perhaps, however, that makes too much sense and the state will require us to use an actual translation of the raw or scaled score to a grade that can be used as 15% of the final.
We get it that the state in its current philosophical iteration believes that high stakes standardized tests are the way to promote improved academic success. (I do not believe that, and there is virtually no evidence to support that philosophical belief, but if I am going to be an educator in Texas I must play by the rules.) The snafu in this new accountability measure is that the state went too deep into micro management and created a host of problems that will be resolved differently in every system in the state. No matter what we do it will be perceived as unfair to someone. Sadly, one way or another, it will be students who suffer, not Legislators. They do not have to pass an EOC to remain in office.
Thanks, Brenda!
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