The only way to remediate the situation is to administer the exam to the student body as a pilot. All students will be required to sit for the exam, however, graduation should not be contingent on the exam. 

The student body believes this is in everyone's best interest for the following reasons: 

 1) We were not informed until well into our second year that our graduation would be based on successful completion of this exam. 

 2) This comprehensive exam, which is supposed to be an assessment of how well students are being prepared for licensure, is being given before all course work is completed. This leaves students ill-prepared to take such an exam and does not fulfill the exam's proposed goals. The student body should not be responsible for preparing itself for a comprehensive exam. 

 3) The school is not required to make graduation contingent on this exam. As TCS has stated the exam is not for accreditation purposes but is instead a tool to assess how well professors are preparing students for licensure. It is not appropriate to potentially penalize students while attempting to assess the faculty. 

With the confusion and miscommunication surrounding this issue, and the inability of students to complete their coursework before the proposed exam dates, it is obvious that conditions surrounding this exam will not favorably reflect this program, its faculty and its students. 

The MACC student body calls for this 2011 exam to be made into a pilot, so that TCS has an opportunity to make needed adjustments for a future comprehensive exam that will accurately reflect the abilities of Chicago School students.