At least 83 percent of Maryland's 54,628 public high school seniors have met the requirements on the state exams that are now mandatory for them to graduate, according to data released yesterday. But some districts, especially those with large minority populations, lag far behind.
While Baltimore has customarily had the state's lowest test scores, the percentage of seniors who have completed the requirements on the High School Assessments was slightly better in the city than in Prince George's County: 64.9 percent compared with 64.5 percent. The state's best results were in Carroll County, where 95.2 percent of seniors had the HSAs behind them.
"The parents have a lot to do with this," said Carroll Superintendent Charles I. Ecker. "The teachers do their job, but we need their help, and we have a great group of parents."
The HSAs are basic-skills tests administered at the end of courses in Algebra 1, sophomore English, biology and American government. To be able to graduate, students can pass all four exams or earn a minimum combined score. And since this summer, they have been allowed to complete projects in place of the tests they can't pass.
The data released yesterday are based on students' performance as of June, at the end of their junior year. Since then, the tests have been administered two more times. Seniors will have three more chances to pass before graduation and six more opportunities to submit projects.
In the area's other suburban school systems, the rate of seniors who have completed the requirements is 84.6 percent in Baltimore County, 91.8 percent in Anne Arundel County, and 92.9 percent in Harford and Howard counties.
State officials say many of the 9,059 seniors who are short of the requirements are close to meeting them. They are most concerned about students with disabilities and students learning English as a second language, many of whom lag behind. But they say the students who are not close to passing the tests often lack the credits they need to graduate anyway.
City schools chief Andres Alonso said at yesterday's state school board meeting that as much as a quarter of Baltimore seniors typically need a fifth year to complete high school. He expects that to be the case again this year, and he said the exams have forced schools to make standards higher.
