By Steve Gunn
EAGnews.org

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Rhode Island education officials think it’s a good idea to make sure high school graduates venture into the world with some fundamental skills.

That’s why they’ve pushed through a new regulation that says, starting in the 2013-14 school year, prospective graduates must pass the English and math sections of the New England Common Assessment Program test with a score of at least 2 out of a possible 4.

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That means they only have to get a 50 percent score to pass.

And the test is not a one-shot proposition. Students take the test in the 11th grade and can take it up to two more times the next year to meet the graduation standard. They can also use passing scores on several  alternative tests to meet the requirement.

Is that too much to ask of students after 13 years of instruction?

Yet the mayor of Providence and “more than a dozen community groups” believe the standard is unfair to students. They have sent a petition to the state Board of Education, seeking revocation of the graduation requirement.

Why? Because as is stands, 40 percent of Rhode Island 11th graders are in danger of missing graduation next year because they can’t pass the required sections of the test. That percentage gets much higher – up to 80 percent – in some of the state’s urban school districts, according to the news report from Fox Providence.

“The clock is ticking, and the futures of literally thousands of Rhode Island teens are hanging in the balance,” said Steven Brown, executive director of the Rhode Island chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, which is part of the coalition opposing the standards.

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Brown is absolutely correct.  The future is hanging in the balance for these students. But his proposed remedy – just letting them walk away with a meaningless diploma and no basic skills – is incredibly stupid.

The fact that so many students struggle with this simple academic rite of passage should send a startling message to state lawmakers about the ineffectiveness of their public schools. Kids are not learning the basics, yet many adults expect school officials to maintain the sick tradition of “social promotions” and let them graduate, anyway.

The people who want to cancel the requirement are not doing students any favors. If they get their way, the kids may have a great time on graduation night, but life will quickly become challenging as they try to make a living without minimal math or English skills.

The answer is not to ditch the test or the graduation standard. The answer is to improve the public schools and offer more school choice, so passing a basic skills test will become the no-brainer it’s supposed to be for the vast majority of students.