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New graduation program flawed

Perhaps Ohio’s new high school graduation requirements are flawed, as some critics insist. It may be that they unfairly block some students’ paths to diplomas.

But Buckeye State residents should also be upset about what the new program implies about how much public school students are learning.

A new set of graduation requirements is being adopted in the wake of criticism over the old Ohio Graduation Tests. But some education officials say the new program is flawed badly and is unfair to many high school juniors.

As many as 40 percent of those students, who will be seniors when the new program kicks in, will not be eligible to graduate during the 2017-18 school year, because of the rules, one school district superintendent told a reporter last week.

It is not unusual for the first class or two of students who take a new standardized test to do poorly on it. Both students and their teachers often need some time to become comfortable with amended examinations.

If the new system is unfair in that regard, state officials may want to take another look at it.

Not that the requirements for graduation are especially stiff: The new system uses seven different tests. Two are in English, two are in mathematics, two are in social studies and one is in science. Each test is graded on a 1-5 scale, meaning a total of 35 points can be earned.

Only 18 are required for graduation.

In other words, the system implies that if students learn slightly more than half what the state considers important, they ought to be handed diplomas.

Ask most classroom teachers: Fifty percent on most of their tests means an F.

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