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Irving students who failed TAKS to sit out graduation
How petty and mean-spirited can people be? The key probably is that the chair of the Greater Irving-Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce's education task force nixed the idea of students who failed the TAKS being able to participate in graduation ceremonies.
By Katherine Leal Unmuth
IRVING – After a second night of hearing tearful pleas from students, the Irving school board decided Tuesday not to allow students who failed the TAKS exit exam to participate in graduation ceremonies.
More than 100 students and parents attended the meeting, where only one trustee, Valerie Jones, moved to allow students to walk.
Although no board members seconded the motion, board president Michael Hill said he hopes legislators realize the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills is not a valid tool.
"The bar has been set so high in Texas that we are losing kids," Mr. Hill said.
Other school districts are studying their policies, too, as state legislators work to replace the exit exams with end-of-course exams.
As Irving trustees were explaining their decision, students left the meeting saying, "You are wrong."
Trustee Barbara Cardwell said students would not be able to rely on such exceptions after high school.
"When you do go out into the real world of work, they do not cater to your needs and wants," she said. "I can assure you it is much tougher than working to get your diploma."
The school board called an emergency meeting after receiving numerous complaints about its graduation policy. On Monday, during the board's regular meeting, more than 50 parents and students packed the room to speak.
Parents shared stories of trying to motivate their children to go to school and the tremendous anxiety brought on by the exam. Several students said they had failed the math and science exams by one question.
"I am one of 40,000 students in the state of Texas not graduating because of the TAKS test," Academy of Irving ISD senior Meredith Vasquez, 18, told trustees. "I'm just asking you to let us walk across the stage."
"My initial opinion tended to be to reserve commencement for students who passed," Ms. Jones said Tuesday night. "But then I met some of these kids.
"I don't see how allowing them to participate would weaken the ceremony. Although not able to receive a diploma, these students would still have their dignity intact."
The Texas Education Agency allows school districts to decide whether students who fail the TAKS but meet all other requirements can participate in commencement. Students can be awarded a certificate of completion instead of a diploma.
Fort Worth ISD is holding an emergency meeting on the issue this morning.
Coppell ISD recently decided to let such students walk. Grand Prairie ISD also did, provided those students promise to retake the test in July and attend tutoring.
Arlington is the largest area district with a policy that allows students to walk, while the Dallas school district does not.
There are 199 seniors in Irving who failed to pass the TAKS on their last chance, said Lane Ladewig, division director of campus operations. Students have five opportunities to pass all four sections.
"Your goals say you want to be an exemplary district," Owen DeWitt, chair of the Greater Irving-Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce's education task force, told the board Tuesday. "And with that goal in mind, it is our opinion that if you have not met the requirements, you should not be in the ceremony."
Last year, Irving trustees considered changing the policy after hearing the pleas of students and a teacher from the Academy of Irving ISD who said it especially hurt Hispanic students who learned English as a second language.
Despite a survey showing that most students, parents and teachers polled supported allowing students to participate, trustees declined to change it by a 5-2 vote. While 16 percent of seniors statewide failed overall, the failure rate for Latino and black students is higher at nearly one in four.
The failures have hit districts such as Irving, where the majority of students are Hispanic and many learned English as a second language, particularly hard.
Justin Garcia tearfully explained how he walked out of school when he learned he had failed again and that his father cried when he found out.
"He said, 'I'll be there until you're 45, and you're still taking the test,' " he said. "I know some of you have kids in school. I know for a fact if this happened to your kids, you'd be here talking."
— Katherine Leal Unmuth
Dallas Morning News
2007-05-23
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