<p>“Perpetuity” is in the mind of the Board of Regents (Frazzled l). My s. took the Regents Physics exam in June 2003, graduated with a very decent score and went off to college. I happened to read the following winter that there was such a hue and cry about kids failing that the Board of R. ‘rescored’ the exam. I looked up son’s old score, found the new equivalent, and called his school (because the old exam was recorded on his transcript). I asked how this affected kids who’d graduated and was told that if he ever requested a copy of his transcript, the new score would be on the official transcript. (This has never come up and probably never will). </p>
<p>NY State has done this with English and I think with last spring’s Math B exam. </p>
<p>For me, the tragedy of this is that my kids score very well on the exams (without tinkering after the fact). When my 8th grade d. got a 99 on the Biology exam, I looked at the Regents website to see what her raw score was (1 wrong), then noticed that in order to pass with a 65, you needed to get around one-third of the answers correct. In what universe is that passing? The tragic part is that teachers bring the review stuff into the class (the good teachers anyway) on the first day and the year is spent catering to the exam. Maybe it does cover the basics of the course, but because so many kids are doing badly, they’re beating everyone over the head, repeating the information instead of expanding on the topic. </p>
<p>When the ‘new’ English exam was first introduced, I remember reading that a mom in Brooklyn raised a ruckus because they were “quoting” from literature but were actually changing words - sometimes using easier synonyms, and at least once actually changing an author’s example because they were afraid h.s. students would find it disturbing (it may have been an example of prejudice) - I’m just going on old memory here, but that’s the jist of it. They did change the exam, but why would they ever think that was all right to begin with? And why did it take a super-vigilant parent to notice? Teachers didn’t seem to mind.</p>
<p>I’ve heard anecdotally that in the old days, when NY state kids applied to colleges out of state, the colleges just ignored the regents scores. But a public school in NY state lives and dies by its regents scores. I’m afraid NCLB has spread the disease to other states. In the old days, it was possible to graduate with a local diploma (no regents scores or not enough) so there was a place for everyone - I think perhaps then no child was left behind. Now they’re repeating grades or dropping out because they can’t make it through all the hoops. </p>
<p>Yes, I do see the other side of the argument. I just think if you’re going to set a standard, it should be just that - set. Tinkering with it after the fact because not enough kids are ‘above average’ (as they say in Lake Woebegone) says it’s not working.</p>