The solution passed by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Tim Pawlenty, however, could raise a few eyebrows: Students either have to pass the test once, or fail it three times, to graduate.
I have written about this specific piece of legislation several times. I continue to address it because a respected State Senator who has built his legislative reputation on the education of our students drafted the legislation. I was appalled that Senator Wiger would just suspend math testing requirements for half a decade because the test is too hard.
From my research, it sounds like there are several people who agree with the Senator that our students aren't prepared for this test. If that is the case, we need to find ways to prepare our students to succeed instead of telling them they will be allowed to fail. While I am not an expert on education, when I am elected, I will work with fellow legislators to shorten Senator Wiger's 5 year achievement gap by focusing on providing education instead of just testing it.
