Ohio Considers Making ACT Test Graduation Requirement
Reader Comments
ACT as graduation requirement
The ACT is (except fo Writing, which can be optional) is 100% "Multiple Choice", does not penalize incorrect answers, and thus in no way demonstrtates the student's reasoning processes in obtaining those answers; lucky guesses could in theory produce high scores. Conversely, the Ohio Graduation Test ()GT) increasingly requires the student to show work in arriving at the solution in order to receive full credit. Along with many fellow Engineers, I have tutored OGT Math and Science for several years, and we agree that these tests allow us to relate these tests to the real world. Governor Strickland has many good ideas on education, including internships for new teachers, but replacing the OGT with the ACT isn't one of them.
Many 18-year-olds might find it more to their liking to enter a skilled trade [e.g. plumbing, electrician, health care], all of which require a diploma or GED to qualify for occupational training - and I believe that the American economy requires more of them than 'English Lit.' majors.
Also: I8-year-olds have right to vote, but the ACT does not include Social Studies or American History, while the GED includes excellent expositions on how Congress passes laws. And to pass the US Naturalization Exam, immigrants are required to be more familiar with American government and history than a US high school (or college) graduate.
I believe that with the expenditure of elbow grease, OGT tests could be reworked to combine the best features of the present OGT, GED (a national test), PISA (international test), and the US Naturalization Exam. But insofar as 21st-century Science, the TerraNova test used by Parochial high schools is so advanced that I couldn't pass it unless I lucked out on multiple-choice questions.
Poll Shows Public Support for Ohio's Education Plan
Here's a link to an article in the Columbus Dispatch highlighting the results of a recent poll showing that a majority of Ohions support Gov. Ted Strickland's education plan.
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/ticker/SCHOOL_FUNDING_POLL.ART_ART_02-06-09_B5_G7CQL90.html?sid=101
Waht is a plumber going to do with an ACT score?
Not everyone is going to college.
How about teaching and stop social engineering
This is all fine and good, but
The likely result will be less, not more, students graduating from high school.
What might actually push more kids forward is allowing them to graduate early with a G.E.D. and move on to junior college in senior (or even junior) year. High school is a time drag and non-real environment that retards maturity in too many kids as it is.
Taking the ACT? Okay. Take it.
