Failure rates in Montgomery spur rethinking about final exams

...Montgomery school data show a majority of 30,000 students enrolled in seven math courses failed final exams in the fall semester. High rates of exam failure go back at least five years in Montgomery and extend to several other subjects, school figures indicate.
Dylan Presman, PTSA president of Rockville High School and the person who brought the issue to public attention in late April, said several of the Poolesville teachers’ ideas appear to start with the assumption that students don’t take exams seriously, which is not what he sees.
Although some strategically decide not to study for exams because their course grades likely will not be swayed much by an exam score, Presman contends it is “absurd” to suggest that this phenomenon explains failure rates of 50 to 60 percent.
Many students do their best, he said. “I believe students are failing because there is a systemic issue, a problem with the exams,” Presman said. The Poolesville ideas could penalize students further, he said, the “complete opposite” of what is needed...[full article at link below]

The Washington Post:  Failure rates in Montgomery spur rethinking about final exams