Educators are worried a last-ditch plan to save Maryland high schoolers unable to pass graduation tests will place unfair demands upon teachers and schools while resulting in meaningless “back-door diplomas” handed out disproportionately to poor and minority students.
The so-called Bridge Plan for Academic Validation, announced earlier this year, offers “project-based learning” to thousands of students who have passed course work in algebra, English, biology and government, but have so far failed the accompanying tests required next year for a diploma.
Instead of retaking the test a third time, students would complete a project based on Maryland State Department of Education guidelines. Students who fail the test with the worst scores, correspondingly must complete more projects.
“Of course there are all sorts of different learners,” said Nick Beecher, a middle school science teacher in Baltimore County Public Schools. “But any teacher’s experience is that the kids who love projects are the kids who are doing pretty well anyway.
“This could be a lot of extra work for, most likely, the kids who haven’t put in the work the rest of the year,” Beecher said.
Beecher also argued that the plan renders graduation subjective, because even though the staterequires an outside panel to grade the project, success depends on how much effort each teacher puts in.
“I’d hate for someone to pull the ‘My teacher didn’t carry it out correctly’ ” excuse for not graduating, Beecher said.
Dan Cunningham, director of assessment for the state, called the plan a “necessary alternative” and insisted the state will ensure consistent rigor. “There isn’t a single ‘how-to-do’ to make this happen,” he said. “It comes down to a kid-by-kid approach at the school level.”
Experts outside the schools, however, are also concerned.
“We know the [graduation] test content is not particularly rigorous or high-level, so all students really should be able to demonstrate that basic knowledge and skill,” said Daria Hall, assistant director of K-12 policy for D.C.-based Education Trust.
A high failure rate on the graduation test should sound alarms regarding teacher quality, Hall said, asserting that alternative plans make it easier to avoid issues surrounding test failure and, in the end weaken standards and the prospects for students.
Hall, who is familiar with Maryland’s plan, described a New Jersey alternative for “test-phobic” students. A study found that 3 percent of students at higher-income schools used the alternative while 41 percent of students at low-income schools did the same.
“The evidence is very clear this quickly becomes a lower standard for poor kids and kids of color,” Hall said. “They’ve done what they’ve been told to do, and then find their diploma is not worth the paper it’s been printed on.”
