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Here’s the perfect example of “soft bigotry of low expectations.”

To graduate high school, do you think students should reach some reasonable standard of knowledge? If so (and hopefully so), how do you determine whether or not that knowledge has been attained? Standardized testing would be one viable option, right?

That was the case in Oregon, which had the “Essential Skills” assessment. It was a standardized test which helped determine whether each high school senior had the knowledge he/she needed in order to receive a diploma.

Yes, I know that's in Oregon. South Carolina has our own standards… and challenges. But I bring up Oregon to illustrate that across our nation, public education has a growing problem from within.

More than just whether a student had achieved the knowledge required to graduate, Oregon’s Essential Skills test also provided critical information to parents, elected leaders, and the media. After all, don’t parents have a right to know whether their children are actually learning? Well, a common way to find out is a standardized test.

Side note: I realize too much standardized testing is a HUGE problem in many places. I also realize some students don’t test well, and additional metrics are needed to figure out if they actually know the material. But as a general statement, Oregon was not wrong to utilize a standardized test to help figure out whether high school seniors had acquired the knowledge needed to graduate.

Anyway, back to this Essential Skills test. Over time, it became clear that certain ethnic groups were not performing as well as others. So instead of working to figure out why and then address the issues behind those scores, Oregon’s Democrat Governor and Democrat-controlled state legislature simply decided to ELIMINATE the reading, writing and math testing requirements for high school seniors! You can’t make this stuff up!!

Now in Oregon, all you need for a high school diploma is to collect a minimum number of credits. Everyone who shows up gets a diploma, regardless of effort or performance. (Which, coincidently, seems to be a core trait of liberalism.) Yes, students still need to pass classes with a “D” or better, but absent standardized testing, there aren’t checks in place to ensure students were actually taught anything!

In a statement, the Oregon Governor’s office said eliminating the Essential Skills test will “benefit Black, Latin indigenous, Asian, Pacific Islander, tribal and students of color.” HOW?! Is she saying those groups aren’t able to understand the material? Is she saying they’re not capable of taking standardized tests? How on earth is this not a bigoted statement?!

And more importantly, how can ANYONE now determine whether these students have actually learned what they need to know, or whether instead they’re a victim of failing school systems, apathy, or social promotions to the next grade level despite not having learned the material.

It’s too late for public education students in Oregon. Parents everywhere else need to be on-guard for this kind of nonsense.