Last week, Mr. Rendell and the State Board of Education announced plans to create a series of English, math, science and social studies tests that high school students will be required to pass in order to graduate. While there was a great outcry in school districts across the state, this is exactly what is needed, and I credit Mr. Rendell for pushing this.
Mandatory high school exit exams are nothing new. Half of the states in the country have or are in the process of introducing these testing programs for high school seniors. The reason is that studies have revealed that many modern-day high school graduates are graduating without basic, fundamental skills. Our school systems have failed them, and they're ill prepared for the real world.
The state test that the Board of Education is developing is not overwhelming. From my high school teaching perspective, I can tell you that the tests will cover basic skills and knowledge. But despite the fact that this testing would not be overly difficult, school systems are reluctant to embrace it because it would point a bright, harsh spotlight on teaching deficiencies.
It is amazing and troubling to think that 96.4 percent of the students in the Chester School District could fail the state basic skills test and be allowed to graduate. Philadelphia and Morrisville were each at 76 percent. Even the Radnor School District on the Main Line had 19.2 percent.
How is this possible? The reason is that schools are feeling the pressure to just graduate people. The students are treated like cattle, herded in and out after their four years are finished, even if they are failing to meet bare minimum academic standards. Pennsylvania's secretary of education put it best when he said the policy is "show up and shut up." He means that if you are not absent and don't cause major problems, you will graduate.
This is unacceptable, and Mr. Rendell deserves a lot of credit for tackling such a difficult issue. On my radio show this week, I had the governor on, and he told me that he was amazed at the resistance to this, particularly from minorities who said it was most unfair to them. He said despite the backlash, he knows that improving the educational experience of children is critical, and he wants this effort to be his legacy.
Mr. Rendell is right. The quality of education, as measured by student basic skills proficiency, has continued to deteriorate, and the state needs to take drastic action. Instead of applauding this effort, edu-crats offer nothing but criticism. Sorry folks, but the system isn't working. A disturbing number of high school graduates are not ready for college, they're not ready for a career, they're not ready for the real world. It is a situation that is screaming for help.
As citizens, as taxpayers and as parents, we have to take a sobering look at education today. A high school diploma is no longer enough. To get a good job and be successful, you need a college degree and sharp skills. And if the mayor is to be successful in attracting new companies to locate their operations here, it helps to be able to offer them a strong, highly educated talent pool.
As Mayor Nutter said, while a high school diploma might have been acceptable in our parents' generation, stopping there will put today's kids at a competitive disadvantage. If his vision of expanding college education to more citizens is to be realized, first we have to get the kids through a good high school education.
Teacher-turned-talk show host Dom Giordano can be heard weeknights on WPHT Radio (1210 AM). You can send questions to Dom via e-mail at askdomg@aol.com. You can also write to him with questions at P.O. Box 355, Lumberton, N.J. 08048.