Graduation Exams

Bobby Giese

12/10/10
Period 7/8

Writers Workshop

Graduation Exams

Most high school students would be hesitant to support Graduation Exams.  However, I believe that an education is one of the most important things that anyone can have. Graduation Exams would be beneficial to schools in America because it will ensure that students today will have leave high school with an adequate education. I also believe that the American society could make some improvements so that everyone can have an education. I believe that the best way to guarantee that students have learned enough would be to implement these high school Graduation Exams. These Exams would test the students of the high schools to make sure that both the high school they attended and the student did their job. In order to receive a diploma, students must pass the Exam. These Exams will be capable to give students an actual aspiration to work towards throughout their high school career, it will give the high schools an opportunity to model their curriculum towards things that are on the Graduation Exam, and it will aid the government in deciding which schools would need more help as compared to others depending on the percentage of student s that pass the Graduation Exams.

If the Graduation Exam was admitted to high schools across America it would benefit the students the most because after all it is their education. The Students would have a set goal that they could work towards throughout all of their four years in high school if not sooner. It is beneficial for a student to have a concrete goal in high school to strive for, with that goal they will be able to gauge them and work hard to achieve what they want. If students know that there is a test between them and a diploma they are more likely to push themselves to get better education to pass. (Grace Chen) This would also be good for the students in high school that just try to coast by. The Graduation Exams would force these students to make an effort in school so that they can actually graduate. They would have to take an active part in high school, pay attention, and essentially make them have a better education if they are planning on graduating high school. As for the students that have been keeping pace with the curriculum and their grades up, these tests will be a way to actually prove that they have been doing their job as a student. For them the Graduation Exams will represent a merit to those students showing that they did what they had to do and they passed. (Grace Chen)

Another way that Graduation Exams will benefit society would be the ways that it helps high schools. The Exams help the schools because it will help them form a new curriculum. If the schools know what will be on the Graduation Exams they will be able to properly prepare their students for what will be on it. The school will have the opportunity to make sure that every student will be prepared for what will be on the test by requiring a set amount of classes for each subject that the Exams cover. Another way that they would benefit the schools is that it would help teachers perform their jobs better. With these Exams they would be able to know exactly which subjects a student needs additional help in and be able to provide the correct form of attention to help them learn that subject. An additional way that high schools would benefit from adopting the Graduation Exams would be that they would receive a grant from their state government. It is understandable that some local school districts would not be able to cover the cost that implementing an entirely new test to an entire graduating class; therefore the state government would fund a proportion of the cost. It would also let the schools show the government their progress as a school as a whole. The scores would demonstrate to the government how well their school is doing. (Chen, Grace)

Some people may believe that a Graduation Exam will not be as beneficial as what has been previously stated above. Some believe that Graduation Exams will discourage the students at high schools that have been falling behind because they believe that they will not be able to pass the test even if they tried. Moreover, they say that it will cause students that have failed the test to drop out of high school. However, the tests are there to do the exact opposite of these things. For a student that has been falling behind is compelled even more to study harder in order to pass the test, not retake classes over again and receive a better education benefiting the student even more. Skeptics also say that the tests may be costly to implement. However, the schools that do implement the tests will be able to receive government funding in two ways: by doing well on the tests and earning it or either doing poorly and needing it. Although there are some skeptics that believe that Graduation Exams will not benefit the education system their arguments have been put to rest, therefore a Graduation Exam will be very beneficial to high schools. (Peter D. Hart)

Overall, I believe that it is best for high schools in America to institute some form of a Graduation Exams. The entire high school community will benefit from this whether it is the students that will be taking them and expanding their horizons as high school scholars, the teachers that will be able to prepare the students for their lives and destinations after their high school career, and the administration in making hard decisions. Graduation Exams should be put into action with high schools around America.