One student learned very little during the first 8 years of his free education, before reaching high school. Neither a special education student nor an English language learner, that student would be placed into English 1/9 at my school, together with several other freshmen. That student would be woefully unprepared.
Another student walks onto campus ready to pass the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) from day one of his high school career. This student also finds English 1/9 on the fall schedule, in a room with the aforementioned unprepared chap. But this student has been ready for high school challenges for the last 2 years.
How can we expect students who enter high school at completely different levels to perform at the same competency on an exam such as the CAHSEE? If we’re going to talk about standardized tests, how about standardized students?
If all students enter high school with a bare minimum of understanding, then it’s reasonable to expect high schools to move all students up from that minimum. Otherwise, it’s ridiculous to anticipate that high schools will move all students up to a determined level when that journey is much further for some kids than others.