The relationship of high school graduation exams to graduation rates and SAT scores.

Abstract

The current study examined the effect of high school graduation exams on states' graduation rates, states' aggregated SAT scores, and individual students' SAT scores. Three data sources were used: One source identified states requiring a standardized test for graduation; the NCES provided state aggregated data on graduation rates for the class of 2002; and the College Board provided its 2001 SAT database for all test-takers. After controlling for students' demographic characteristics (e.g., race, family education and income, GPA and class rank), regression analyses revealed that states requiring graduation exams had lower graduation rates and lower SAT scores. Individually, students from states requiring a graduation exam performed more poorly on the SAT than did students from states not requiring an exam. The impact of high stakes tests' on students' motivation to stay in school and on the teaching of critical thinking skills (tested by the SAT) are discussed.Education Policy Analysis Archives Vol. 13 No. 6 2 A major event impacting an adolescent's passage into adulthood is graduation from high school. The high school diploma is a credential of responsibility, perseverance, and completion of years of education. It is a tool for potential employers, it is a stepping-stone for higher education, and it is a status symbol and certificate of self worth. Current educational policies, including those contained in the No Child Left Behind federal mandate, seek to improve the educational quality for the nation's schools. However, educational accountability, could threaten the future of many adolescents. High schools requiring standardized examinations for graduation and diplomas could be putting some of their students at a disadvantage by encouraging dropping out of school, or by focusing the curriculum in a way that facilitates performance on the exam at the expense of critical thinking skills, including those assessed by the SAT. On the other hand, the implementation of graduation exams may improve students' performance on other high stakes tests, such as the SAT, by helping to motivate students to achieve more demanding standards and provide them with valuable test taking experience.Minimal research has looked at the effect of high stakes testing on graduation rates, and only one study has attempted to look at the effect of high school graduation examinations on SAT scores (Amrein & Berliner, 2002). Furthermore, studies that do explore the relations between high stakes tests and students' achievement outcomes often ignore the confounding effects of demographic factors such as race, family income, and student ability (GPA and class rank). The purpose of the current study was to examine the effect of high school graduation exams on states' graduation rates, states' aggregated SAT scores, and on individual students' SAT scores. In addition, several demographic factors known to impact students' test results and graduation rates were included. High Stakes TestsThe American Educational Research Association (2000...

Effects of Failing a High School Exit Exam on Course Taking, Achievement, Persistence, and Graduation

“…Several studies using individual-level data from nationally representative samples (mostly from cohorts of students graduating high school in the early 1990s) found that state high school exit exams increase high school dropout rates among low-achieving students (Bishop & Mane, 2001;Jacob, 2001) or Black males (Dee & Jacob, 2006), although one similar study found no such effects (Warren & Edwards, 2005). In contrast, a set of studies examining the relationship between state exit exam policies and state-level graduation rates generally finds no effect of exit exams on dropout rates (Carnoy & Loeb, 2002;Greene & Winters, 2004;Grodsky, Warren, & Kalogrides, 2009;Warren & Jenkins, 2005), although at least two such studies find a different result (Amerin & Berliner, 2002;Marchant & Paulson, 2005). Some of these studies have important methodological shortcomings, however, that may bias their estimated effects of exit exam policies on dropout rates (discussed at length in Dee & Jacob, 2006;Warren et al, 2006).…”

High-stakes testing and student achievement: Updated analyses with NAEP data

“…Most of the research conducted around the time of NCLB provides scant support for the effectiveness of high-stakes tests in increasing student achievement (Amrein & Berliner, 2002a, b;Braun, 2004;Rosenshine, 2003) or graduation rates (Haney et al, 2004;Heubert & Hauser, 1999;Marchant & Paulson, 2005). Since our initial study, no data have emerged to contradict the findings that accountability pressure has some relationship to fourth grade math, virtually no influence on reading (Dee & Jacob, 2009), and only negative influence on student graduation rates (Holme, Richards, Jimerson, & Cohen, 2010;Orfield, Losen, Wald, & Swanson, 2004).…”

Investigating Middle School Determinants of High School Achievement and Graduation in Three California School Districts

“…Several studies using individual-level data from nationally-representative samples (mostly from cohorts of students graduating high school in the early 1990s) have found that state high school exit exams increase high school dropout rates among low-achieving students (Bishop and Mane 2001;Jacob 2001) or Black males (Dee 2003), though one similar study found no such effects (Warren and Edwards 2005). In contrast, a set of studies examining the relationship between state exit exam policies and state-level graduation rates generally finds no effect of exit exams on dropout rates (Carnoy and Loeb 2002;Greene and Winters 2004;Marchant and Paulson 2005;Warren and Jenkins 2005; but see Amerin and Berliner 2002 for a different result), though some of these studies have important methodological shortcomings (discussed at length in Dee and Jacob 2006;Warren et al 2006). Several newer studies that correct many of the methodological shortcomings of these studies, however, find that high school dropout rates tend to increase, on average, when states implement exit exams (Dee and Jacob 2006;Warren et al 2006;Reardon and Kurlaender 2009).…”