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14 The Potential Harm Pat Moore to Deaf Students of High-Stakes Testing in California The California School for the Deaf (CSD) has served students with distinction since 1860.* The school’s faculty is supportive of and dedicated to the mission of raising standards and expectations for all CSD students, who are deaf, bilingual learners. Increasing academic, career, and technical education expectations and rigor to prepare students for postsecondary educational programs and employment is the heart of the CSD’s instructional program. Denying a diploma to students who have worked hard and met the graduation requirements, however, is not in our vision, mission, or belief statements. The purpose of the educational system should be to reward students for their accomplishments, not to leave them empty-handed after years of study because they could not pass one test. The California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) became a graduation requirement beginning with the class of 2008. This exam is being used to satisfy the high school testing requirement of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. California, like many other states, has decided that students who do not pass the exit exam will not receive a high school diploma, even though they may have studied diligently and passed their high school coursework. WHAT IS THE EFFECT OF HIGH-STAKES TESTING ON DEAF STUDENTS? Not receiving a diploma is a punitive lifetime sentence given to students who deserve to be recognized for their efforts. Because many companies require all employees to have high school diplomas, students will have fewer employment opportunities. It is challenging in the present system for deaf adults to obtain employment commensurate with their knowledge and skill level. The CSD Career Center contacted a number of resources attempting to find current employment information specific to deaf adults. The most recent statistics were from a 1988 research report from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, the Eleventh Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of the Handicapped Act, 1989. At that time 23.6% of deaf stu- *The California School for the Deaf has campuses in Fremont and Riverside. This chapter focuses on the Fremont campus. 2 1 7 dents out of high school more than 1 year were employed full-time. The National Organization on Disability/Harris Survey of Americans with Disabilities 2004 poll showed that only 35% of Americans with disabilities reported being employed full- or part-time compared to 78% of Americans without disabilities. The Cornell University 2006 Disability Status Reports states that in 2006, the percentage of working-age people ages 21 to 64 with disabilities working full-time/full-year in the U.S. was 21.7%. .In 2006, the percentage of working-age people without disabilities working full-time/full-year in the U.S. was 56.6%. .The difference in the percentage working full-time/full-year between working -age people with and without disabilities was 34.9%. This gap identified by both studies confirms that the great majority of disabled persons do not have paid employment. CSD Career Center staff were informed that for the first time in history, the National Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Census plan to obtain statistics specific to deaf individuals’ employment rates in 2008 and 2010 respectively so these comprehensive studies may make government agencies and the public more aware of this staggering problem. Many states and the U.S. Census Bureau have conducted research studies on the enormous high school dropout costs to the nation and to states. Students who do not have a high school diploma earn substantially less during their lifetimes (Bainbridge, 2006). Increasing the number of welfare recipients because students cannot pass one test will contribute to the state and federal deficit and will make the students feel they have nothing to contribute to society. CSD staff members have dedicated themselves to making the students feel proud of their Deaf identity, proud to be U.S. citizens, proud of their accomplishments, and proud of the contributions they can make in deaf and hearing communities. The CSD staff members are concerned that students will become depressed and not value remaining in school if they have nothing to show for their work. They believe students deserve recognition for their efforts. The students’ teachers feel defeated working in a system that values only an English and math test score, a system that insists that if teaching has been adequate, then 100% of students should be...

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