California High School Diplomas: Now Available in 2-Ply Sheets

When I was in college, many of the school's bathrooms had this phrase written above the toilet paper dispenser: "Harvard Diplomas: Take One".

For the record, I attended Columbia and Cornell where most of the student body had received a rejection letter from Cambridge as high school seniors. Thus, I can say with reasonable certainty that the bathroom vandal was basically echoing a 'sour grapes" feeling common to many of his classmates (including me).

Recently, I thought once again about the bathroom stall graffiti. This time, it was when Alameda County Judge Robert Freedman invalidated the California State High School Exit exam as a requirement for high school graduation. From last week's San Mercury News:

In his ruling, Freedman concluded that students would suffer great harm by being deprived of a diploma, both emotionally and practically. The prospect of having to spend a fifth year in a high school without sufficient educational resources or attend a community college instead of a four-year university shows ``significant risk of harm,'' Freedman wrote.

Arturo Gonzalez, a lawyer representing the students who challenged the exit exam, said Freedman's decision made clear that the harm to students greatly outweighed the harm to the state. ``I can't imagine any justice on the California Supreme Court would be eager to deny tens of thousands of students their diplomas,'' he said.

By a narrow 4-3 decision, the California Supreme Court yesterday reinstated the state exam requirements for the high school diploma, subject to a review by the state's Court of Appeal. From the SF Chronicle:

In a split decision, the state Supreme Court on Wednesday reinstated the exit exam--at least for now--and directed the Court of Appeal to hear legal arguments over its validity. It was unclear how quickly the appellate court would act after the high court's 4-3 decision to set aside an Alameda County judge's ruling that struck down the law requiring seniors to pass the test in order to receive a diploma. This year is the first time the requirement has been enforced.

Iris Padilla, a senior at Richmond High School who speaks almost no English and hasn't passed the exit exam, was in class Wednesday when another student received a phone call with news that the exit exam had been reinstated. "Several girls started to cry," Iris said, acknowledging she was one of them.

Iris has passed all her classes and otherwise would graduate if not for the exam. Her spirits were high earlier this month after an Alameda County Superior Court judge struck down the exit exam, saying it was unfair to penalize students who attended poorly performing schools and hadn't been given an equal opportunity to learn the materials on the test.

In other words, the liberals in the state judiciary would like to award California high school diplomas to students who speak virtually no English because it would cause them to suffer emotionally and prevent them from getting into college. How should we deal with high schools that give passing grades to students who barely speak any English? Or judges who are turning California's public unversities into a institutions of remedial learning?

Note to bathroom vandals: Don't put away that Sharpie just yet.

Crossposted at SF Moonbats