Maryland's state school board made a final decision yesterday to hold firm and require this year's high school seniors to pass four subject tests to graduate in June, although it left open the possibility of exemptions for special education students and those learning English.
The decision leaves 9,059 students across the state - or about 17 percent of the Class of 2009 - at risk of not getting a diploma, according to data released yesterday.
Only 70 percent of African-Americans statewide and 50 percent of special education students have met the requirements. But the group most likely to be barred from graduation are immigrants who are learning English. Many have not yet taken all the tests, and only 15 percent have met the requirements.
A motion to delay the requirement failed, 7-4, when board members voted after five hours of discussion and emotional pleas. Despite the numbers of students who will struggle, Baltimore's schools chief Andres Alonso urged the board to not back down. To do so would continue "a system that creates an urban underclass for African-American and Latino children," he said.
State education officials contend that few students who work hard, come to school and do their homework will be denied diplomas. They expect additional students to pass the tests and others to complete projects that allow them to make up for failing scores.
Maryland is the 26th state to link graduation to high-stakes tests. Nearly three-fourths of students across the nation now have to pass some tests. But the trend doesn't appear to be spreading. In Pennsylvania, the governor and legislature agreed last spring to delay mandatory graduation exams for a year. Nationally, some educators have begun to argue that performance on exams should be a factor in a student's GPA or a significant part of their grade in the subject being tested.
The school board has taken many votes on the High School Assessments since 1993 when the tests were first developed, but yesterday was considered the board's last chance to reverse course and drop or delay the requirement.
To address concern over students who have yet to meet the requirements, state schools chief Nancy S. Grasmick said she would lay out a plan to allow individual students to appeal to the board if they fail. In particular, Grasmick said, the state must be sure that all students have been offered extra help. The appeals process would be devised by the board's next meeting, in December.
