Student IDs that reveal test scores deemed illegal | students, school, cards - News - The Orange County Register

Student IDs that reveal test scores deemed illegal | students, school, cards - News - The Orange County Register:

Student IDs that reveal test scores deemed illegal

Kennedy High School in La Palma is requiring students to carry school ID cards in one of three colors based on their performance on state standardized tests.

By SCOTT MARTINDALE / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

For the latest, click here: Principal defends color-coded IDs; expert 'horrified'

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LA PALMA – State education officials say an Orange County high school that issued color-coded identification cards to students this year based on their standardized test scores is violating the students' privacy and the unlawful practice should be curtailed.

This photo shows a white and a gold school-issued planner. The planners come in one of three colors based on a student's performance on the California Standards Tests. The black and the gold planners give students a range of special campus privileges and discounts, while the white gives students no privileges.

CHRISTINE COTTER, FOR ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Kennedy High School in La Palma is requiring students to carry school ID cards in one of three colors based on their performance on the California Standards Tests – black, gold or white – plus a spiral-bound homework planner with a cover of a matching color. The black card, which is the highest level, and the gold card give students a range of special campus privileges and discounts, while the white card gives students no privileges and forces them to stand in a separate cafeteria lunch line.

Kennedy parents and students say the cards and planners unnecessarily embarrass and single out students who did not perform as well as their