Do NOT get me started on Bridge projects!! There are many reasons why students do not pass the HSA tests. They have all been debated, fought over, and dissected in this blog several times. If Mr. Sadusky or anyone else at MSDE wants fewer bridge projects, make the tests shorter. There is NO need for a three-hour test to determine whether or not a student knows a subject. One of the main reasons that students are not successful is that they run out of steam after about 2 hours and they still aren't finished. Those of us who have been in the process since the beginning of the HSAs have always raised this point only to be met with raised eyebrows and no real reason for a three-hour test. Shorten the test and the number of projects will drop! Think about the students for a change. Would you want to sit for a 3-hour test when you were 15? I think not.

@veteran teacher
I have to contest your point - my daughter passed her Algebra 1 HSA at the end of 7th grade - if a 12 year old can hang in for 3 hours anyone can. Kids can play xbow all day, watch TV or play Angry Birds on their iphone. Its all about values. By the way - my daughter couldnt get higher than a C on any of the county benchmark exams and got a D on the final yet passed the HSA - that should tell all something about the rigor of the test.

Brisge projects are a JOKE! How low can we set the bar?? Kids sit in a room together, copy answers and plagiarize information off the web and paste it into the projects. They don't even change the font of the information pasted into their project!!

Just because your daughter passed the HSA doesn't mean they aren't miserable. I've proctored enough of them to know. There's a reason kids have no problem playing video games and watching tv all day - they enjoy it. They also had the choice. Do they have a choice to opt out of these baloney tests? We're purposely making kids and teachers miserable so that politicians can play games with numbers.

@Real Teacher--My son passed his HSA also the first time he took it and was not in high school at the time either. That does not negate the fact that, aside from the Algebra/Data analysis test, the other HSAs are reading intensive. Yes, students can sit and play video games and such for hours but those are skills not based in reading. Poor readers faced with a 3-hour reading test shut down. I agree the projects can be a joke but tell that to the students who have them rejected more than once because of not highlighting something correctly or some other insignificant error. Do away with the whole process and let students be measured by what they can produce in the classroom.

Good points by all; however, if reading is the hurdle, doesn't that emphasize the fact that kids are graduating and can't even read a couple of years below grade level. How could we be graduating so many kids if this is the case? What happens when they go to college (since these days EVERYONE is college bound)? What if they need to read an instruction manual? How could our kids be so deficient in skills yet the statistics and press coverage say otherwise. Gov Martin O'bama (Malley) was just braggiing up our system and bad-mouthing the fat guy from NJ! Where is the truth??

I had an interesting exchange with one of my students today. This girl is one of the best students in my class (not English). She is conscientious, responsible and has an average in the mid-90s. She was scheduled to take the English HSA this morning so I was surprised when she came to my class first period. When I asked her why she wasn't taking the test she became very agitated and said that there was no use because she wasn't going to get a passing grade, so it didn't matter. I tried to convince her that she might very well pass it this time around or she might improve her score so she would need fewer bridge projects. She would not budge. She said she doesn't like doing the bridge projects but would rather do them than take the test again

I felt very bad for her. I have seen this emphasis on standardized tests do so much damage to my students. It's heartbreaking and wrong. The testing companies are laughing all the way to the bank and what do we have to show for all this testing?

If you think that taking the HSA's or any other test is too much for our students, please read this entire report on how BCPS students are actually doing in college. I was prepared to read bad news but this report SHOCKED me! What does anyone really think is going to happen after high school graduation? We can debate the reasons BCPS kids are not succeeding in school and beyond or we can actually have honest dialogues and tackle the issue. Parents, students, and educators need to put aside the contentious relationship we seem to have and change the lives of kids.

http://baltimore-berc.org/pdfs/CollegeEnrollmentFull.pdf

I generally like to err on the side of students, but I have a hard time with the argument that the tests are too long. I think that it's kind of a valuable skill to be able to mentally focus for three hours at a time. I think back to my summer job where I have to sit through meetings and take notes, and it's certainly helpful to have the self-awareness not to zone out for too long.

The argument that kids are failing tests because tests are too long reminds me of an Onion article/video I once saw that was titled "Study Finds Standardized Tests Biased Against Students who Don't Give a Sh*t." Which, although that doesn't describe the student mentioned immediately above, does describe a lot of the students I've encountered.