I agree with you!  "Are" kids should meet the minimum level of competancy.  Pretending that it does not matter is just setting them up for failure in the real world.

ON a side note, if a student had gotten a 3.5 in my school district, and failed the SOL (the Virginia Version), I would fire the entire school board and get some new - competant - blood in there!

This is what America has degenerated into. a group of whiney babies squalling till someone feeds them... never mind they can feed themselves, they want someone else to do it.

Pandering is what it is.

It is sending a clear message to the youngsters that they can get what they want if they whine loud enough.

Love the pic LW

i'm still wondering how one gets a 3.5 GPA and fails a "basic skills test."

something is very wrong there. i don't know where exactly, but it should be looked into.

Not racist...as you know, Texas has a large Hispanic population, so I'm sure this won't be the first time a Hispanic student gets interviewed.

Btw, there is outrage on this in our city, too. Two districts here let all of their students walk, while two others made it clear that they will "absolutely not" change their stance on this.

I ate some chocolate so the bad taste in my mouth would go away.

I don't want the kids who didn't graduate to walk. If they're not good enough to graduate, they're the kid who marches and then breaks from it to go sit with their friend on the other side of the place, asking the person next to them to move... messing up the entire flow of graduation... then gaggles about how unfair it is that they don't get their diploma until it's been earned, during the ceremony, further disrupting it... etc. But I agree. "Let. Are kids walk?" That's the question.

yeah, but i have a hard time believing that someone, despite any origin, could do that well grade wise and fail a basic skills test. they didn't say she failed english, and a 3.5 would suggest that failing english would be improbable. plus, i didn't see anything about her failing any classes, just this test.

but thanks for the polite reply whip.

but i got ask again,,,how does that happen? a basic skills test would be ,,,basic. 3.5 is an honor student. that doesn't add up. maybe i'm missing something, but i have a feeling it's not me missing something. it's either the test is bullshit, which is unlikely...again, a 3.5 student should be able to at least pass a basic skill test. more likely, she never earned that 3.5....or something...i dunno...it's strange.

"More highlights on this issue: In Dallas, a student was quoted as saying that while she finished at the top of her class with a 3.5 grade point average, she is now blocked from graduation by failing the TAKS test. "We know we're not going to get our diplomas, but we just want to walk across the stage," Martinez said. "That's all we ask for right now."

Let me get this straight; she's at the top of her class, and knows she's not going to get her diploma? Am I the only one who noticed:

WHAT GRADUATION CEREMONY IS SHE BLOCKED FROM?

If she's at the top, everyone else is below, ergo, no one got a diploma!

Does anyone know if you can really resit the exam 6 times? If so, I have absolutely no sympathy.

that's a possibility i wouldn't discount. i was under the impression, i guess falsely, that she really had a 3.5

resitance is futile, lol

I say let all the kids who earned their diplomas walk in the ceremony and then have the kids who didn't pass march up on stage and be aknowledged for their achievements(or lack there of) as well. Broadcast them loud and clear to all the Grandmas and Grandpas in the crowd. That way every one gets to participate in Graduation and we can all go home happy.

3.5 is top of the class? Is it a school of ignoramuses?

I hate grade inflation. It especially hurts those with the intelligence to earn those real A's, because they get lost in the shuffle, have their accomplishments obscured by the pleading masses who kiss ass and beg for lower standards so they can have A's too.

Pisses me off, people.

Pisses me off.

It's in between A- and B+. A- is 3.667, B+ is 3.333. "Top of the class"? Please.

I thought 3.5 was an A, A- maybe, not a B+.

This is sad. I don't even know why terrorist are bothering wanting to kill us. We seem to be doing a great job at destroying ourselves little by little. Here is a great movie that every (who has not see it) should see. It's call Idiocracy. I can give you a funny but scary idea of what could happen if we continue to dumb down our society the way we are today. And it probably won't even take 500 years like in the movie.