It is probably a good thing that I'm married, or I would probably be stalking Debra Saunders from the San Francisco Chronicle. I love her mind. She frequently cuts right to the heart of a matter that others surround with political crap.

As an example, read her latest column on the lawsuit over the enforcement of the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) as a graduation requirement for the class of 2006. Passed in 1999, the requirement has been watered down by delays and the lowering of minimum percentages of correct answer for passing. What other test can you take where you pass with 55% or 60% of the answers correct?

She points out the problems with a number of the key points that Arturo Gonzalez, the lawyer leading case uses to justify delaying the exam once again.

• First, she points to his comment that "If (state superintendent of public instruction Jack) O'Connell had been my superintendent," when he was going to high school, "I would not have gotten a diploma." That's a great statement, but completely without backup. As she mentions in the column, Gonzalez, went to the University of California, which means he passed Algebra I and had basic English skills. He would most likely would have passed the CAHSEE. Now he wants to lower the bar for other students.
• She writes: The lawyer's argument is that it is not fair to not grant a diploma to a student who has completed 13 years of school and repeatedly received passing grades in math, English and other classes, because the student cannot pass "one test." As I've said, it isn't fair to graduate a high school student without the basic skills needed for college or career. The point of the CAHSEE is to make certain all high school graduates have a basic set of skills. Debra also reminds readers that the CAHSEE isn't only one test. The students have multiple opportunities over 3 years of their high school career to pass the test.
• Third, even in the worst case where the student is unable to pass the test in three years, they're not out of luck. There are a large variety of options including summer school, a fifth year of high school, unlimited retries of the test, Adult Education classes, community college or even a "certificate of completion" from their local school district.
• Fourth, Gonzalez is using the "test anxiety" excuse. If this test is too stressful how will these students survive in the world of work. For example, a couple of the students in the lawsuit have said they want to be a firefighter or a nurse. How are they going to pass the tests required for these careers or the day-to-day stresses of the emergencies in these important jobs?

As Debra suggests, the solution is that these students and their teachers need to work harder. Simply giving them a diploma doesn't make these students educated or prepare them for college, a life full of tests. The solution is not lowering the bar, but increasing our efforts to reach the bar.

I love the comment with which she ended the article, referring to Gonzalez's comment that he wouldn't have been a lawyer if Superintendent O'Connell had been in place when he graduated high school (without the CAHSEE):

It may well be that if Arturo González had a lawyer like him when he was a student, he would not be the lawyer he is today.