Senate Democrats seem rather proud of themselves. Their effort to hold the state budget hostage by threatening to blow a $2 billion hole in it proved to be—to an extent—successful. As Shift reported, Republicans were forced to agree to part of Senate Democrats’ terms of watering down high school graduation testing standards. The agreement lawmakers reached would not eliminate the testing standards, but it would delay the requirement for high-school students to pass the biology exam for this year and 2016.
Whatever your opinion on the biology exam or any other exam, a scenario in which lawmakers must eliminate a basic subject test because students cannot pass said test is a poor reflection on our educational system. Referring to the elimination of the biology test, that 2,000 students failed, as a “bright day” is out-of-touch and irresponsible. The students would be better served if lawmakers addressed why students were failing the exam, not merely celebrating its temporary elimination.
It’s just another example of Senate Democrats discrediting themselves as lawmakers.
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