Introduction
CLAST Exam is a waste of time. Testing a student for reading, writing, and maths skills as a requirement for graduation is a waste of time. This is because throughout high school the teachers monitor the ability of the students. The students who have a problem area are identified by the teachers and are given the necessary assistance. We should understand that not all students have the same academic ability. For instance, there are students who are good in English, some in Algebra and others in reading. So the CLAST exam is quite unfair because it requires a round student, that is, a student who is good in all the parts that are tested in the CLAST Exams. (Judith, 1999)
Main body
Secondly, any student who is to graduate must pass the required courses or credits, that is, all the courses required in school. So for a student to pass these exams he/she must have the reading, writing, and maths skills. Therefore to test a student for the three skills again will be a waste of resources and time. And as stated earlier, an average student just has the basic skills and it is quite unfair to expect the students to pass all the areas tested by CLAST Exams. For instance, if students did not pass the maths part, he/she has to do the CLAST Exam in order to get a diploma. This is quite unfair because the student has passed all the other areas. If a student has passed all the credits then he/she will be able to graduate. And if one is not able to graduate, then it is like his/her life is at a standstill. This is because one is not able to venture into the job market. (Manuel, 2003)
Thirdly, a student must pass the required courses in order to graduate. Most of the students do not make it because of one subject. For instance, most students complain that they fail because of maths. All the other subjects they manage to do well but only fail in one subject. This makes them not graduate. This is very frustrating especially over something that was unexpected. There are students who go for a tutorial after class and still fail the exams. These students are very frustrated because all of us cannot be good at the same things. There are those who excel in maths while others do not, even after tutorials. It is just that maths is not their thing. We should allow these students to get their diplomas because they excel in other areas. (Judith, 1999)
Fourth, the CLAST Exam is not relevant; this is because if a student fails the exam four times he/she can graduate. Then why bother the students? This is like giving the students more time before their graduation. If it is a condition then there should be no exemptions. This means there is no difference in the degree/diploma between a student who did the CLAST Exam and failed four times and a student who did not do the CLAST Exam. So why hustle the students if by the end of it all he/she will graduate even after failing the CLAST Exam four times. This is a total waste of the student’s time, just adding another year to their graduation time.
Conclusion
Lastly, the CLAST Exam overshadows the importance of other courses. It like the other credits prepares the students for the CLAST Exams. Just passing the credits should be enough proof that the students have learned something. Failing one credit should not be enough reason to make them take the CLAST Exam.
Work Cited Sources
Judith, W. Teaching Science to Language Minority Students: Theory and Practice, New York: Macmillan, 1999.
Manuel J. Ethnic and gender biases in Florida’s CLAST exam , Florida: Wesley, 2003.