San Juan Bautista
– Ashlee Brumbach waited patiently outside the classroom at
Anzar High School, holding a presentation board in one hand and an
iced drink in the other.
San Juan Bautista – Ashlee Brumbach waited patiently outside the classroom at Anzar High School, holding a presentation board in one hand and an iced drink in the other.
The 17-year-old senior appeared calm as she waited to present her final Graduation Exhibition – a requirement to receive a diploma at the small San Juan Bautista high school.
The Graduation Exhibition differentiates Anzar High School from many other schools in the region. The exhibitions are projects designed by each student to encapsulate everything they have learned during their four years of high school.
Students incorporate multiple subject areas into a larger project, covering the content areas of language arts, history, science, service learning and a post-graduate plan along with components of math, a world language and art.
Charlene McKowen, Anzar principal, said allowing students to cover academic topics through subject matter that interests them helps with retention and further understanding.
“We believe that students will be more willing to try their hardest and challenge themselves if they’re personally interested,” McKowen said. “If it’s something that they’re already passionate about, then they have the highest possible motivation to practice the skills that we want them to. Otherwise it’s just an assignment.”
Brumbach said the fact that her subject matter interested her helped her learn biology, a topic which generally is not of much interest to her. Her project looked at the health dangers of hair dye.
“I dye my hair constantly, so I wanted to know if it was hazardous,” said Brumbach, whose hair is currently bleached blond. “Plus, it’s using math and science, which is not especially interesting to me, so I wanted to do something that would maintain my interest.”
In the end she decided that her constantly changing hair wouldn’t cause too much irreparable harm to her health.
She plans to dye her hair purple as soon as she has finished her exhibition.
Proponents of the exhibitions argue that it reflects what a student has learned more completely than standardized tests.
“They measure broader, more 21st century thinking skills: How well the student synthesizes information and their communication skills,” said Brett Bradshaw, director of strategic communications for the Coalition of Essential Schools. The coalition, which includes Anzar High School, encourages exhibitions as an important part of graduation.
Bradshaw said standardized tests, which are currently emphasized in California high schools, only provide a snapshot of what students are learning.
He gave the example of a driver’s test, pointing out that those pursuing a license are expected not only to bubble in a multiple choice test, but also to get in a car and prove they can actually drive a car.
“There’s nowhere in real life where we do bubbles,” McKowen said.
