For the second year in a row, state lawmakers are considering a proposal to require high school seniors to take an exit exam before graduating from high school. The exam, which would start in 2005 if the measure becomes law, would ensure that a Connecticut high school diploma means something, according to its chief proponent, Republican House Minority Leader Robert Ward of North Branford. “The purpose of school is to have kids learn,” he told his colleagues. “And I believe a fair standard will encourage student achievement.”

Mr Ward’s plan sounds good in a political speech, but it is fundamentally weak from an educational standpoint. The state already requires testing of students in the fourth, sixth, eighth, and tenth grades. The state Mastery tests for the lower grades and Connecticut Academic Performance Test (CAPT) for tenth graders are designed to pinpoint areas of academic weakness and to address those weaknesses with follow-up programs and educational initiatives. These tests are useful because they help educators fine-tune their course work, and they alert students and their parents to areas in which extra help may be needed. The only purpose of a high school exit exam, as we see it, would be to deprive some students of a diploma and create a new class of high school dropouts – the last-minute dropout.

Most educators understand that testing should be part of the process of education and not the goal. We should be enlightened enough by now not to exact penalties on those who fall short on tests because of gaps in their academic skills or even anxiety over taking standardized tests. We know enough to respond with a commitment to get them back on track. We need to do more than say, “Sorry. So long. Good luck,” after administering a last-minute test that strips students of their high school diploma.

As a community, we must have faith in our educators. They are serious about their mission: All children can and will learn. They have many tools at their disposal, including standardized tests. But in the end, we trust their judgment over that of the state on which students should graduate and which should not. We urge our state legislators not to support the initiative for high school exit exams in Connecticut.