Cabrillo Unified School District Superintendent John Bayless plans to meet with each of the Half Moon Bay High School seniors who have not yet passed in an effort to inform them of the requirements for graduation and to see whether special attention from the school district can be of any assistance.
The education of district students is, after all, his job. Shouldn't he make the graduation of high school seniors his business?
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Thirty-seven of the district's 279 seniors have yet to pass the test. Thirty-one of those - 84 percent of those who have not passed the test - are still learning the English language. More than half of them have been in U.S. schools for less than three years.
Are these kids stupid? Of course not.
I'm less sure of the mental acuity of state education officials who require Spanish-speaking students to pass a test in English.
Whether standardized tests are necessary is a debatable point. Parents and taxpayers need to know that their sons, daughters and hard-earned cash are handled appropriately. That can be a difficult assessment if students across jurisdictional boundaries aren't held to the same standards.
And it is true that learning English is necessary for any teenager who longs to be a fully functional and productive member of American society. But research shows that those who learn basic skills in their native tongue do very well converting that knowledge to English over time. To be fair, the test should be administered in a language students understand.
Until then, we must give these 31 Coastside kids hope. To brand them failures now would be counterproductive and downright cruel.
Fortunately, CUSD is giving them every chance of success.
There is one more opportunity for Half Moon Bay High School seniors to pass the test. It will be offered again in May. Before then, in addition to Bayless's personal visits, the school plans to offer after-school tutoring and even support groups.
You might argue that that represents a great deal of resources dedicated to the success of very few students. But our society depends on the success of those efforts and others like them. America is no longer an economic dynamo that is fueled by native sons steeped in the English language. We must make room for people of all cultures. After all, the high school exit exam is really the entrance to a lifetime of achievement - or dashed hopes.
- Clay Lambert
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