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More schools are ditching final exams
A number of campuses use oral presentations to determine if students have earned promotion.
May 29, 2007
By Carla Rivera
Times Staff Writer
Instead of late-night cramming and tutorials on how to ace multiple-choice tests, Joshua Koenig prepared for finals by rehearsing a PowerPoint presentation on the challenges of trading stock options and what he learned while attempting to climb Mt. Rainier with his father.
When the day came, the 18-year-old's audience at Wildwood School in West Los Angeles included parents, grandparents and friends, as well as teachers and advisors who judged whether his performance demonstrated his growth as a learner.
As thousands of public school students sat for standardized tests last week and others prepare for upcoming final exams, Wildwood is one of a number of schools across the country using oral presentations — or exhibitions — to determine students' readiness to move on to the next grade, or in Koenig's case, to graduate.
In an era when the federal No Child Left Behind Act and California's state high school exit exam exert pressure on students to master standardized fill-in-the-bubble tests, a growing number of educators argue that exhibitions offer a better way to assess students' academic achievements.
Testimony last week during congressional hearings on the reauthorization of President Bush's education reform law focused on the need for the federal government to support states that use performance-based assessments and on the increasing frustration that parents and teachers have with high stakes testing.
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Page last updated: April 23, 2007
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