A welcome proposal . . .

In this Seattle Times Op-ed piece State Superintendent Dorn shares his thoughts on the number of exit exams necessary for graduation.  Currently, the class of 2015 is required to pass five exit exams to meet graduation requirements. Superintendent Dorn questions the time and cost of this many exams and the impact failing one or more has on the options high school students have when needing to take additional exams or meet the requirement through an option such as a Collection of Evidence.

In the piece Superintendent Dorn tells us that he will make a recommendation to the legislators in January to reduce the number of exams from five to three.

Students in the class of 2015 are required to pass five exit exams to graduate from high school, also known as high-school-proficiency or end-of-course exams: Reading, Writing, Biology, Algebra and Geometry.

In January, I will propose to the Legislature that we reduce the five required tests to three for the 2014-15 school year: English language arts, biology and algebra.

Reducing the number of exit exams will not reduce accountability, nor will it lower standards. It may, however, provide additional time for students to study other important subjects including art, music and career and technical education.

I applaud this move  for multiple reasons, but wonder how it will be received and processed by the legislators.  What will you tell your elected officials in Olympia when they receive this proposal?