Should the AIMS test be required for high school graduation

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(No Transcript)
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Should the AIMS test be required for high school
graduation?
AIMS - Arizonas Instrument to Measure Standards
Presented by
-John Dyer -Krista Allen
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BACKGROUND

• According to the Arizona Board of Education the
  AIMS test provides educators and the public
  with valuable information regarding the progress
  of Arizona's students toward mastering Arizona's
  reading, writing and mathematics Standards.
• Beginning this year (2006), all graduating
  seniors will be required to pass the AIMS test.
• In 1996, the legislature passed a law directing
  the State Board of Education to develop a
  competency test for the graduation of high school
  students and establish passing scores for each
  test. After being postponed twice, the deadline
  was finally set for 2006.

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BACKGROUND

• To pass the AIMS Seniors will have to get
  somewhere around 60 on the test (achieve the
  meets category).
• The Board of Education claims that does not
  discriminate on the basis of race, color,
  national origin, sex, disability, religion,
  sexual orientation or age in its programs,
  activities or in its hiring and employment
  practices.

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CONTROVERSY
Controversy arises from this new requirement for
seniors to pass the AIMS to graduate. Here are
some of the questions that are debated.

• Is the AIMS test an accurate evaluation of the
  level of education for a graduating high school
  senior?
• Will the AIMS test cause teachers to divert their
  teaching from important material for the sake of
  preparing students for the AIMS test?
• Does the AIMS test cause students to put too much
  value on passing a test instead of gaining
  knowledge?

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ARGUMENTS Against Requiring AIMS

• Standardized tests are distract from learning and
  make school less enjoyable for students
• In Florida, a Juan Guererro has been accepted to
  the summer computer program at Florida State
  University. However, because of a test in
  Florida much like the AIMS, Juan may not
  graduate, and will have to continue working at a
  fast food restaurant
• By requiring the AIMS test to graduate, a teacher
  will have to put more time and energy into
  preparing students for the test, and important
  concepts or ideas may be skipped.
• Many students who excel in classes have a much
  harder time performing on tests. A student may
  comprehend certain material, but could fail a
  test because of nervousness.

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ARGUMENT For Requiring AIMS
In order for a student to pass the AIMS, they
must have an incentive to pass. Students have
five chances to pass the test in high school
once in their sophomore year, twice in their
junior year, and twice in their senior year. The
test measures 1) Weather or not a student can
read a paragraph and understand it well enough to
answer questions about it 2) Weather or not a
student can write a passage that is clear,
appropriately organized, and grammatically
correct 3) Weather or not a student can do math
problems at a reasonable level
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• The importance of getting a high school degree
• A person who does not graduate high school faces
  a life of reduced earnings and employment
  opportunities
• Before AIMS, Arizona already had a
  staggeringly high school dropout rate of 11 to
  13 each year for grades 9-12

• The importance of passing AIMS
• Students will receive a diploma upon graduating
  from high school.
• A student will have mastered the basic subject
  matter like their knowledge against Arizona
  Standards
• It is only one test out of a thousand tests that
  a person might take in their lifetime
• A student will be more likely to continue their
  education

What for? -Students do not have to retake the
test -Students do not tend to drop out -Students
do not consider taking a GED test -Students will
have a stronger academic base after high school.