Fail the test, forget the diploma
Christian Science Monitor
Seth Stern
December 31, 2002
For the first time, Massachusetts high school seniors must pass a state exam to earn a diploma. As educators and volunteers strive to help thousands who have not yet passed, they worry about those who may be left behind.
Tiara Smith sighs and taps her pencil as she stares at the packet of math problems lying on her desk. She's only halfway through a week of testing, and she knows how much is riding on her answers. A member of Boston's class of 2003, Tiara is among the first group of high-schoolers who won't receive diplomas unless they pass the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System test, or MCAS.
Tiara, a special-education student, has already failed the MCAS twice. No allowances are made for students in her situation, but the test is untimed, and there are no limits on retaking it. Up until a year ago, Tiara's overall passing grades and regular attendance in school would have sufficed to merit a diploma. Not any longer.
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No exceptions are made for special- education or bilingual students, who account for half of the 1,600 Boston students yet to pass. Testing, which has been phased in over the past several years, starts in sophomore year, and students must receive a score of at least 220 out of a possible 280 in both math and English in order to pass.
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Despite the outreach and many students' hard work, significant numbers will likely discover they have failed for a third or fourth time when results are mailed in February. And with state budget cuts looming, the MCAS tutoring program may not be available to next year's class. That leaves educators concerned about what will happen to the students left behind.
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But with her eye on life after graduation, Tiara knows she needs to pass the test to succeed. Enrolled in the school's computer-technology vocational program, Tiara talks about college or perhaps computer or secretarial work. "A diploma gets you jobs," she says.
So Tiara persuaded a friend to sign up with her for an MCAS prep course at the Congregacion Leon de Juda church near her home. There, HERC matched Tiara up with Boston College sophomore Kathryn Jefferis for mentoring. At their first meeting, Tiara agreed to put aside at least 20 minutes a night for MCAS preparation, and Kathryn promised to take Tiara out for dinner and a movie if she passed.
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Communities unite behind students
The city didn't make it easy for students to forget about the test. Education, civic, religious, and business leaders launched a massive outreach and tutoring campaign aimed at the lowest-performing students.
Ministers preached about the test from their pulpits. Volunteers phoned and visited students' homes. Companies offered student employees paid release time from after-school jobs. Radio stations broadcast reminders in between hip-hop songs.
"The number and kinds of agencies and government efforts to get involved is truly unprecedented," says Paul Reville, executive director of the nonprofit Center for Education Research and Policy at MassINC. "Whether it's enough to get everyone over the bar remains to be seen."
Not every student took advantage of all the help, and a few weeks of prep courses may not have been enough for those who did. "That's like curing malnutrition with vitamins," says Pedro Antonio Noguera, a professor at Harvard's Graduate School of Education who has advised Massachusetts' schools. "You need regular meals and, in this case, regular exposure to the material."
Madison Park Headmaster Charles McAfee admits such efforts can't plug all the gaps - particularly among students who don't show up at school regularly.
Many who haven't yet passed wouldn't graduate anyway due to chronic absenteeism, Mr. McAfee says. About a quarter hadn't even sat through an entire MCAS exam prior to the December retest. "We're meeting them halfway. The kids have to meet us halfway," McAfee says.
But making that extra effort wasn't easy for Tiara. Always a bit grouchy during her first- period English class, Tiara came in more tired than usual and missed homework more often, Ms. Rinella says. As the test came closer, she grew more sullen in class. Her job delivering meals to AIDs patients at a public housing development caused her to miss a one-on-one session with Kathryn, her Boston College mentor. That left only one meeting for them to actually review MCAS questions.
Another failure could be devastating
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Any of the 12,000 seniors around Massachusetts who haven't passed the MCAS can take the test again in the spring, but the results will not be available until months after graduation.
School districts can file appeals for those students who fail the MCAS test but would otherwise qualify for a diploma. However, a successful appeal requires higher grades and grade-level appropriate work - probably too high a barrier for special-education students such as Tiara.
Boston school superintendent Thomas Payzant has suggested starting with a lower passing score of 216 this year and gradually raising it to 220 in the third year.
Without a successful appeal or a lower threshold, those who missed the 220 mark again in December will receive only a "certificate of completion." Some Massachusetts school districts have announced plans to offer a "local diploma" - a move state officials have called illegal.
Even without a diploma, though, students might be accepted at a community college. Several New England colleges, including the University of New Hampshire and Western Connecticut State University, have said they will accept local diplomas. But not having a state-certified diploma may still make qualifying for financial aid more difficult.
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