Test Scores Uber Alles

[Bob Schaeffer <bobschaeffer@earthlink.net>]

STUDENT SCORES 499 BUT 500 IS MANDATED
STANDARDIZED TEST ROADBLOCK TO COLLEGE
Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- March10, 2006
by Patti Ghezzi


Danielle Mathis sat nervously Thursday waiting for a decision from the 
state Board of Education: Would her daughter, Nicole, a musically gifted 
student who has struggled with science, be allowed to graduate with her 
classmates?

Nicole is one of 222 students who have sought special consideration from 
the board under a rule approved in December. The students have failed a 
portion of the high school graduation test by no more than a couple of 
points. They want the board to recognize their other strengths and allow 
them to receive their high school diploma anyway.

The board considered 90 of the requests Thursday.

As she waited, Mathis clutched a bag full of manila folders documenting 
her daughter's struggles. Nicole, who hopes to graduate May 26 from 
Sandy Creek High School in Fayette County, has failed the science 
portion of the graduation test four times. The first time she took it, 
she got 499. She needed 500 to pass.

"One point," Mathis said, shaking her head.

Among Mathis' documents was a letter from Brewton-Parker College in 
southeast Georgia offering Nicole, a talented singer, a full four-year 
music scholarship. On Monday, Nicole got another letter — this one 
offering a $2,000 music scholarship — from Reinhardt College in Cherokee 
County. Without the diploma, however, her academic future will be in peril.

Since the early 1990s, Georgia has required students to pass five 
portions of the graduation test to get a diploma. Students who do not 
pass get a certificate of attendance. For years, a waiver option has 
allowed students with extreme hardships to get a diploma, if they 
convince board members their disability prevented them from passing the 
test. In 2004, the board considered 23 such requests and approved three.

Under the new rule, school board members may allow students to graduate 
even if they fail one portion of the test. The board changed its policy 
under pressure from lawmakers, who said they would push for legislation 
if the board did not come up with a more flexible approach.

The legislators were moved by the plight of students who repeatedly fail 
the test even though they study hard and demonstrate competency in 
school through grades and other test scores.

The new rule, known as a request for a variance, still requires students 
to meet strict criteria, including failing no more than one portion of 
the test after four tries and missing the passing score by just a few 
points.Students also must have a solid attendance record and show that 
they have taken advantage of tutoring and other prep courses after each 
failure. In addition, the students must have passed the relevant 
End-of-Course Tests, standardized exams given at the end of eight core 
courses. Students who took those courses before the End-of-Course Tests 
were required are exempt.

Nicole Mathis, 18, met all the criteria. But her mother was worried 
because Nicole had missed a remedial course one summer when she was 
sick. The family bought the study guide and worked with Nicole at home. 
Mathis hoped the board would recognize that as adequate preparation for 
the retest.

Nicole has a disability in math, but she passed the math portion of the 
graduation test.

When the time came for the board to vote on this month's requests, Peggy 
Nielson, a longtime member, made a motion to table 22 of them. She said 
she wanted those students who had not taken End-of-Course Tests — 
because they were not available at the times the students took the 
courses — to try once more to pass the graduation test. She has tutored 
students who were having trouble passing, she said, and they all 
eventually passed. Research shows students who keep trying usually pass, 
Nielson said.

The board member added that she wanted those students to "feel the 
pride" that comes from earning the diploma by passing all portions of 
the test. She said the students' scores would be expedited and the board 
would vote on their variance requests in a special session later, if 
necessary.

Mathis squirmed in her chair, shaking her head. Nicole was one of the 22 
cases.

State schools Superintendent Kathy Cox said she disagreed with Nielson 
and thought the kids had met the criteria for the variance and deserved 
approval.

Board member Mary Sue Murray said she agreed with Cox.

Mathis nodded. "Yes, yes."

But five board members voted in favor of having the 22 students retake 
the test a final time. Four voted against the motion.

"I missed it by one vote?" Mathis said, clutching the folders in her 
lap. "They could not have carefully combed through all of that 
documentation we so diligently took the time to compile. To them, my 
daughter was just a number."

The rest of the requests were approved. Nicole and 21 other students 
will confront the graduation test again later this month.

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/0310metschool.html