SB 109-REPEAL SECONDARY SCHOOL EXIT EXAM  4:32:41 PM CHAIR OLSON said the next order of business to come before the committee was SB 109. TOM OBERMEYER, aide to Senator Davis, said the High School Graduation Qualifying Exam (HSGQE) was initiated in 2001 and was fully implemented in 2004. He said it has become a high stakes hurdle that in many views has harmed many students in Alaska while exacerbating the 2007 court finding that the state was violating students' constitutional rights to an education without providing proper assistance and direction, particularly in rural districts. He said it may be argued that the state does not need the HSGQE and all school districts already require assessment tests to determine student progress and competency. The Center on Education Policy reported in August 2008 that most states have alternatives to the high risk exam. The current Alaska high school exam was changed by the Board of Education and made a little less difficult at the inception and has since been combined with the No Child Left Behind test. He pointed out that the test represents a substantial expense at about $1.5 million per year as part of a $48 million, seven-year annual renewable contract with Data Recognition Corporation (DRC). He said whether or not the test is doing what it was intended to do is questionable. Nothing has indicated that the test has better prepared students for college or has determined conclusively that students were receiving diplomas but lacking basic skills. He explained that many students who fail the test are dropping out of school or ending up with a Certificate of Attendance which has no value in the job market. It is time to review the exam and see if it is time to eliminate it. He noted that the Department [of Education and Early Development] (EED) and the Board [of Education] have taken a contrary opinion. SENATOR MENARD asked if $1.5 per year is the cost to administer the test. 4:36:54 PM MR. OBERMEYER replied yes, the average is about $1.5 million. SENATOR MENARD said Terra Nova is the test that many are wishing to go to. She asked what the cost would be to administer that test. SENATOR DAVIS said SB 109 only repeals the HSGQE and she was not able to provide that information. She said it was up to the EED and Board of Education to decide if Terra Nova would be used. SENATOR MENARD said she knows about the Terra Nova test and should have asked how much less the cost of administering this test would be. SENATOR THOMAS commented that any test does not necessarily create change, but rather what results from the test, such as earlier intervention, creates change. He commented that some people say earlier intervention, according to tests already in place, will have a better outcome than waiting until the 10th grade to take a test with a large impact. SENATOR DAVIS said she is not recommending anything; that SB 109 is to repeal the HSGQE. She mentioned that some tools are already in place for assessments and testing in earlier grades and the EED has to decide what else to do. She pointed out that WorkKeys is supposed to go into effect next year and said she does believe pre-K education is important. She said a system that gives a test at grade 10, with three years to pass, or else a piece of paper to say the student attended, is a disservice to children and needs to be looked at and replaced. SENATOR MENARD said she has heard the MatSu school district is not opposed to SB 109 and asked if Senator Davis has heard from other districts. SENATOR DAVIS said she has heard from a lot of districts and that the committee packets contain some of the information and more will come from public testimony. 4:40:46 PM DOUG CONBOY, Superintendent of Schools, Kashunamiut School District in Chevak, said Kashunamiut School District supports SB 109. He said several aspects of standardized testing have a negative effect on his district's students, which are 98 percent Cup'ik. Students in Chevak do not understand some terms used in testing such as "curb;" there are no curbs in Chevak and students do not know what a curb is. Students don't have a concept of the term "park" as there are none in Chevak. He provided an example of a multiple choice question about the appropriate means of transportation to a hospital - an automobile, public transport or an airplane. Chevak students correctly answered "airplane" which was counted as wrong in the standardization process. He did not believe any standardized test can be detailed enough to consider the wide range of [students'] experiences. He cautioned against substituting HSGQE with something else because one size does not fit all. SENATOR THOMAS said he has been told assistance is allowed for some people and asked if assistance aids Mr. Conboy's students. MR. CONBOY replied that too much dialogue with the student compromises the test; means of assisting a student with the test are quite limited. SENATOR THOMAS asked if other tests already in place should be able to trigger remediation and getting kids to the point where they are able to go on to vocations or college. MR. CONBOY said he believes so. He said teachers who work with students daily and have a relationship with them are up to the task of remediating those issues. The student must also have some ownership as well; a student who is oppositional is hard to turn around. 4:44:56 PM SENATOR KOOKESH said he thinks that the end result of the test is the worst part of it. He has seen kids in his village who don't pass the HSGQE and get a Certificate of Attendance which effectively ends their life because the student cannot go to vocational schools, college, into the military and possibly can't join some unions without a high school diploma. He thought we need to find a way to get kids a high school diploma yet the HSGQE is stopping them from doing so. MR. CONBOY agreed and apologized if his testimony gave any indication that he did not agree. SENATOR KOOKESH said he just wanted to go to the next step: not only is the test something he does not agree with but he also does not agree with the end result. MR. CONBOY said a double standard exists: a student who meets the requirements for graduation as set forth by the local school board and district, but does not pass the HSGQE, is not allowed to graduate. Other students pass the HSGQE but don't have all the needed credits and so cannot graduate. He does not believe a "double shot" at the students is the right way to do business. 4:46:23 PM BENJAMIN AGIMUK, student at Kashunamiut School District in Chevak, supported SB 109. He said some kids do well in school but get very nervous about these big tests and their brains do not function right. He said students who get A's and B's but don't pass the test, even after the retakes, are not able to graduate. He expressed the opinion that this is unfair. He said he knows at least one student exists in every village who is smart enough but cannot pass the HSGQE test because he or she gets nervous. He believes these kids can get a diploma but do not because of the HSGQE test; they will only get a Certificate of Attendance even though they have A's and B's. He said that person is being left behind. CHAIR OLSON asked Mr. Agimuk what grade he is in. MR. AGIMUK replied 10th grade. CHAIR OLSON asked if Mr. Agimuk had taken the HSGQE. MR. AGIMUK replied no. SENATOR KOOKESH asked if Mr. Agimuk is saying that a person can go through high school, get all A's and B's, and then be failed by one exam at the end. He asked if Mr. Agimuk did not agree with that. MR. AGIMUK said he does not agree with that because students can get really nervous and their brains don't function right. He said it is certainly unfair for the student. He pointed out that those students will not be able to get scholarships or go on with school even though they had good enough grades. SENATOR MENARD complimented Mr. Agimuk on his testimony. SENATOR THOMAS asked if Mr. Agimuk is a good student. MR. AGIMUK replied yes. SENATOR THOMAS asked Mr. Agimuk if he anticipates passing the test. MR. AGIMUK replied, "Hopefully." CHAIR OLSON asked what Mr. Agimuk would like to be when he gets out of school. MR. AGIMUK replied that he would like to be like Senator Olson. 4:50:01 PM JOHN ALCANTRA, Director of Government Relations, National Education Association - Alaska (NEA), supported SB 109. He mentioned the savings of $1.3 to $1.6 million per year as shown on the fiscal note for SB 109. He suggested more savings would be made through children not missing instruction in order to take the HSGQE. He recounted that some students pass the test in their sophomore year and tell their parents they are "done with high school." He mentioned a letter in the committee packet from LaDawn Truce, president of the Kenai Peninsula Education Association, which provides an eloquent description of the flaws of the exit exam other than the cost. SENATOR THOMAS said we do a lot of testing all through school. He asked Mr. Alcantra if he thinks the HSGQE is being unfairly judged and if standards will be lowered if the test is done away with. MR. ALCANTRA said he did not believe repealing the HSGQE would be lowering standards because the test is a minimum bench mark anyway. He felt that current testing from 3rd to 10th grade is adequate. He pointed out that good students and smart children have "a blip in difficulty" in passing a test. He said plenty of assessment tools are available and the EED and the Board of Education will come up with some alternatives. 4:53:28 PM CHAIR OLSON said people in the business community have complained for years about high school graduates being inadequately prepared for the job market, particularly in mathematics. He asked what Mr. Alcantra would say to these business community members. MR. ALCANTRA said quality teachers in every classroom would allow these kids to get the best education possible. He said asking village kids about curbs and paved streets isn't going to help them do better math for a workplace. He said this exit exam is keeping hundreds of kids from getting a diploma and being able to move forward and better their lives. At every crossroad, parents and teachers can do a better job at making sure their children do better in math and every subject. Eliminating the HSGQE will not keep kids from getting the best math or high school experience possible. SENATOR KOOKESH recounted that he worried for years about his younger brother who did not do well in school. His brother went into the military, spent time in Vietnam, came back and went to college and got a Masters Degree. If an exam was in place, he would not have gotten a diploma and never would have "made it." MR. ALCANTRA said the letter from LaDawn Druce is about her son who went to a post-secondary vocational educational program in Oklahoma. He had not passed the HSGQE. He came back and passed it 55 points above the cut score two years later. He was employed at an Anchorage automotive dealership within 48 hours of returning to Alaska and has worked his way up to service advisor. Mr. Alcantra said failing the HSGQE can prohibit getting into the military and most union apprenticeship programs; it is hurting Alaska's kids. 4:57:01 PM LES MORSE, Deputy Commissioner, Alaska Department of Education and Early Development (DEED), said the state Board of Education decided it was not wise to move away from this test at this time and felt it was an important part of the accountability system. The Board of Education adopted a resolution in opposition to SB 109. He mentioned data showing the number of graduates has increased while dropouts have decreased since the exam was implemented. The data suggests that the exam might be working. CHAIR OLSON asked if it is correct that the Administration is not in support of SB 109. MR. MORSE replied that was accurate. SENATOR KOOKESH said he did not know that was accurate. MR. MORSE clarified that the Governor's office has not taken a position. The DEED is bringing forward the position of the state Board of Education. SENATOR KOOKESH asked how many students in Alaska receive a Certificate of Attendance. He said the number of graduates will naturally increase because the population is growing. He said fewer dropouts might occur when students stay in school even with a Certificate of Attendance because they don't realize what the certificate is as compared to a diploma. MR. MORSE said the percent of graduates has increased, not just the number of graduates. The total number graduates went from 6905 to 8008 last year; the percentage of the population went from 61.4 to 67.5 percent. In 2009, the numbers are based on 11,863 students of which 8,008 graduated and 2,311 did not graduate. Of those 2,311, 1,549 students passed all three parts of the exam so they did not graduate for some other reason. 762 students did not pass one or more parts of the exam and received a Certificate of Attendance. 5:00:50 PM CHAIR OLSON asked if Mr. Morse agreed that students in rural Alaska are at a disadvantage because they do not have the vernacular of those raised in a city. He asked why rural students should be penalized by a test that is biased toward urban students. MR. MORSE said he would be surprised if a question with that level of bias was on the test. He said he will ask the contractor if any question like that [about a curb] exists. Every item on custom-made tests, including the standards based exams and HSGQE, is reviewed for bias by a committee with representation from all over Alaska. He said, it would be highly unlikely that question would be on the test at that grade because of extensive reviews for bias. CHAIR OLSON referred to his experience of having flown many Medivacs in rural and Western Alaska, and said a student who is asked how grandma will get to the hospital will not say in an automobile. He said he has not seen the test but stated that if such a question is on the test, something is certainly wrong with the test. MR. MORSE said he agreed and was almost 100 percent sure that question is not on the test; it would not have passed the bias committee who would have said two correct answers are possible. CHAIR OLSON asked Mr. Morse to get back to him about whether or not that question is on the test. 5:02:55 PM SENATOR KOOKESH said he is concerned about DEED not supporting SB 109 at all without talking to people, like the testifiers today, or members of the Legislature, such as himself, who are opposed to the test. He said he expects DEED to lead, not keep the status quo. He said he wants to hear the DEED say, "this test may not work, so we are going to make modifications to it; we're going to make it work." He said the DEED needs to look at the fact that SB 109 is in front of the Legislature and there is a concern. MR. MORSE said he would not say no problems exist with the exam and noted that adjustments have been made. He said next week a meeting will be held to review standards, poll people who have worked on the high school portion and conduct consequential validity studies to learn the impact of the exam in the field. He said such things are continuously looked at. He said the Board of Education and DEED think the HSGQE fulfills a very important purpose in the accountability system. The HSGQE is a major driving force in comprehensive high schools that don't fall under the No Child Left Behind accountability. 5:05:06 PM SENATOR KOOKESH said he would be comfortable if DEED would say the HSGQE would be kept as a measuring tool and as part of the graduation process. He does not want to get the message that the DEED doesn't care how a student does in school but will deny a diploma for a student who fails the test. SENATOR MENARD said that Alaska school board [Board of Education] is often at odds with the Alaska Association of School Boards. She would like DEED Commissioner, Mr. LeDoux, to come and speak because she is getting conflicting information that he may weigh in on getting rid of the HSGQE. MR. MORSE said the Commissioner would make himself available. 5:06:59 PM BENJAMIN ANDERSON AGIMUK, student at Kashunamiut School District in Chevak, supported SB 109 for cultural reasons and psychological reasons already stated. He said he has intelligent friends who do not pass the test, are discouraged by the results and are not willing to continue in school. He said these are people who would probably go through vocational school more quickly than other people. They are crippled because they cannot pass a test that was not designed for them, even though they would be successful people. He said he was going to describe cultural reasons as well but those have already been said. CHAIR OLSON asked what grade Mr. Anderson Agimuk is in. MR. ANDERSON AGIMUK replied 11th. CHAIR OLSON asked if he had taken the HSGQE. MR. ANDERSON AGIMUK replied yes. CHAIR OLSON asked if he passed. MR. ANDERSON AGIMUK replied yes. SENATOR KOOKESH asked if he was concerned about the other students who may end up being penalized because they would not get a diploma and would not be able to continue on in life to do other things. MR. ANDERSON AGIMUK replied yes. He said the people he knows are pretty smart and do well in school. He said they do better in technical classes and would be successful. He said they are being crippled by the test and mentally discouraged to the point of not feeling like going forward in school. 5:10:10 PM CHAIR OLSON closed public testimony and held SB 109 in committee. 5:10:29 PM With no further business before the committee, Chair Olson adjourned the meeting.