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EDITORIAL: More of the same on eroding educational standards

The dumbing down continues in Nevada’s public school system. As usual, the students will be the worse for it.

Last week, the state Board of Education approved a temporary regulation that minimizes the importance of “end-of-course examinations” this school year. Instead of accounting for 20 percent of a student’s grade, they will now count for only 5 percent. This makes it more likely that students who have not mastered the course material will advance to the next level.

The state Education Department issued a statement explaining, “The goal is to minimize the amount of mandated statewide assessments and the burden they pose.”

Heaven forbid we should “burden” students by measuring their academic progress. Is it any wonder that Nevada consistently ranks near the bottom of the nation when it comes to academic achievement?

Keep in mind that these examinations — which focus on math, reading and writing skills — were implemented just a few years ago as a replacement for the Nevada high school proficiency exams. Yet lawmakers ditched those assessments because too many high school seniors — despite rules that allowed them to retake tests numerous times — received failing scores.

This relaxation of the state requirement comes as the Clark County School District has implemented a new grading policy that actually rewards students who don’t complete assignments. Under this reform, students can receive no lower than a 50 percent score on homework or a quiz regardless of whether they do the work or ignore it completely. There is virtually no penalty for not showing up to class.

Now that the end-of-course tests mean little, it appears that the only condition necessary to advance through the school district and emerge with a diploma is a pulse.

This rush from accountability is also embodied in the Legislature, where Democrats for decades have fought to mute education reform. Efforts to impose a more realistic teacher evaluation system were forced through the bureaucratic wringer until they emerged unrecognizable. Read By 3, intended to ensure that children read at grade level before moving forward, passed when the GOP briefly controlled both houses in Carson City but was subsequently gutted after Democrats regained the majority.

Education activists complain about funding, but that ignores two record tax hikes lawmakers have passed in recent years to boost school spending. All the money in the world can’t compensate for a system in which the adults refuse to set high benchmarks, sending students precisely the wrong message. What is the inevitable result when expectations are minimal and standards are eroded to present the illusion of progress?

The state board’s decision on end-of-course assessments is just more of the same.

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