LETTER: Clark County School District wants to let students take tests over and over again
The concept of continually re-taking an exam until a passing grade is achieved — being proposed in the Clark County School District — caused me to envision the following scenario:
The student, after multiple attempts at achieving a passing grade, becomes proficient at recognizing the test format and the process of elimination. Any mastery of the subject matter is accidental. Then on to multiple choice questions where the time is extended as the process of elimination is far more extensive. Again the process of achieving a passing grade is paramount and mastery of the subject is incidental. Ultimately the stone wall is reached: an essay. Here the student has nothing to fall back on and “education” grinds to a halt.
The above scenario makes me wonder if a student, never held to accountability, will ever have a sense of achievement.
