3,000 in Virginia Haven't Passed the Tests they Need to Graduate
More than 3,000 high school seniors in Northern Virginia have not passed all the state standardized tests they will need to graduate in June.
The Class of 2004 is the first in which students must pass six Standards of Learning exams to receive a diploma. The tests, which cover reading, math, history and a variety of sciences, are given at the end of each course of study, and the curriculum is designed so students can finish the requirements by the end of 11th grade.
Seniors still have several chances to take tests for the first time or to retake tests they have failed. Of those who are still short of the mark, most -- about 2,423 -- have not passed either the reading exam or the writing exam or have passed neither one. Students may pick four of their SOL subjects, but reading and writing are required.
A handful of students, 286, have not passed any of the six tests they need.
The numbers are taken from a statewide survey of districts, which will be released this month. They provide the first comprehensive look at the standing of about 13,000 Northern Virginia seniors seeking a standard diploma, and educators say they show that most are in good shape, with time remaining for the others to catch up. "I think we're all better off than we thought we would be," said Rebecca L. Perry, school superintendent in Alexandria, where 138 of 475 seniors seeking a standard diploma still lack at least one exam.
In Fairfax County, where 1,154 of 9,531 seniors lack one or more exams, Superintendent Daniel A. Domenech said the numbers will look better in February, after students have had a chance to retake tests. He said he anticipates that perhaps "a couple of hundred" Fairfax seniors won't receive their diplomas with their class -- more than in a typical year before the SOL exams, but fewer than he once feared.
"My concern continues to be what's going to happen throughout the rest of the state," Domenech said. "I'm concerned about what I anticipate will be thousands of students [statewide] who don't graduate this year."
The results were more striking in Prince William County, where more than half of seniors, 742 of 1,344, still lack one or more exams. More than 600 have not passed the reading and writing exams, and 119 have not passed any of the six exams they need to graduate.
But the survey did not reflect the results of retesting over the summer, said Pamela Gauch, associate superintendent for instruction. She said that the county has tutoring programs and that the numbers are manageable. "We do know who those kids are," she said. "We'll get there. As the time gets close, as [students] realize that it's really important, that will be another motivation."
SOL exams have been given since 1998, but the results have not counted officially toward graduation until this academic year. Teachers said they are holding special preparatory classes and devising online tutorials to help students clear the new hurdle in December or May, when students can retake SOL exams.
There are about 20,600 seniors in Northern Virginia. Some are seeking the standard diploma, which requires passing their courses and six SOL exams or tests from a list of accepted alternatives. Some are seeking an advanced diploma, which requires passing nine SOL exams in addition to coursework, and some are seeking a modified diploma, meaning that they must pass only their coursework and no SOL exams.
In its survey submitted to the state, Fairfax counted seniors seeking both standard and advanced diplomas, without distinguishing between them. The other school districts -- the cities of Alexandria, Falls Church, Manassas Park, Manassas and Fredericksburg and the counties of Arlington, Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince William and Stafford -- reported the status of standard-diploma seekers. Spotsylvania was not included because of errors in computerized record-keeping there.
In Arlington, any student who had not collected four tests by the end of last year was required to go to summer school. After all that effort, Kathleen F. Grove, assistant superintendent for instruction, said she was disappointed to see that 104 of the county's 1,242 seniors still need to pass at least one test. Of those, 66 need to pass either the reading exam or the writing exam or both. "I'm concerned about everyone who's on that list. When it's more than a handful, it worries me," Grove said.
Educators said some students included in the survey were special education students, who could opt to receive a modified diploma instead of a standard one. Others are immigrants who are still learning English.
"They're tough ones," said Robert T. Lucas, director of guidance at Stone Bridge High School in Loudoun. "In the past, most of them did make it. Now . . . it will be much harder."
Nineteen states now use exit exams to help determine high school graduation. In Maryland, state officials have agreed that the new Maryland School Assessment will not count toward graduation until 2009 at the earliest. There is no exit exam in the District.
In other states, education officials have backed off or delayed the exams when faced with the specter of thousands of students denied diplomas because of state testing, said Keith Gayler, of the Center on Education Policy. Gov. Mark R. Warner (D) and the state Board of Education have said Virginia will not do so.
Warner has introduced a series of measures to help seniors pass the exams, including regional academies this summer, an online tutorial on the reading and writing exams and a special hotline for parents and students with questions about the new requirements.
— Rosalind S. Helderman
3,000 Yet To Clear Va. SOL Hurdle
Washington Post
2003-11-04
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A59860-2003Nov3.html
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