I disagree that “ending the testing requirement for a high school diploma would be a disservice to all students.” (“Editorial: Don’t break the link between tests and graduation,” The Herald, Jan. 21)
Students are already being effectively evaluated in their classes, and using a standardized test to assess individual school performance does nothing more than compare socioeconomic levels. What the testing requirement does do, however, is narrow the curriculum and limit the availability of diverse opportunities for student growth. John Dewey asked the right question: “What avail is it to win prescribed amounts of information about geography and history, to win ability to read and write, if in the process the individual loses his own soul?”
The testing requirement for graduation is sapping the soul of our students and schools.
Jim Strickland
Marysville
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