Curious how other school districts in the county compare to San Diego Unified when it comes to standardized testing after my story today? So was I.
I asked Lillian Leopold, spokeswoman for Sweetwater Union High School District, what additional tests their district requires, besides the tests that all California schools administer under No Child Left Behind. Like San Diego Unified, Sweetwater gives end-of-course exams in a variety of subjects, and requires its sophomores to take a practice test for the high school exit exam. It does not require two additional tests that San Diego Unified gives to its 9th and 10th graders.
Interestingly, Leopold said Sweetwater also encourages teachers to count those end-of-course exams toward students’ grades. That could reduce students’ tendency to blow them off as irrelevant to their report cards or college applications, a problem that counselors pointed out to me for the story I wrote today about testing.