In Maryland's public high schools, most of the class of 2009 has passed the state's new graduation exams. But for those seniors who haven't, there are other routes to a diploma.
If they can't pass all four High School Assessments - ninth- and 10th-grade-level exams in Algebra 1, English, biology and American government - they can meet the requirement by earning a minimum composite score. Or they can complete projects demonstrating the same skills, a more significant alternative for those who aren't good at sitting for a three-hour test.
When officials ask students who didn't pass the tests what went wrong, "one of the most common answers is 'I can't sit that long,' " said Bernie Sadusky, a former Queen Anne's County superintendent advising the state education department on the projects.
The projects are designed to put the material students are learning into a real-world context. The number of projects students must do is determined by how far they are from a test's passing score. If students retake a test and improve their score but still do not pass, at least they will have reduced the number of projects on their plate. In English, where a 396 is a passing score, a student who scores below 264 must do seven projects in that subject alone. Improve to 330, and the number of projects is cut to three.
The total number of projects under way statewide is a moving target, with thousands completed so far and students working on thousands more. In Baltimore alone, 1,142 students were working on 5,139 projects, of which 1,188 have been turned in.
Because of the extensive support and guidance provided to students, the project pass rates so far have been relatively high; statewide, 68 percent of the projects have been accepted. Baltimore's pass rate was 62 percent through November, and officials say they expect the pass rate to increase significantly after a huge influx of projects in December.
At Southside Academy in Baltimore's Cherry Hill neighborhood, one senior began this fall with 17 projects to complete, another had 18, and many had at least three. Algebra teacher and project coordinator LaShaviar Burns tries to keep them from getting overwhelmed by having them tackle one subject at a time.
"You've got to keep encouraging them, 'This is for graduation,' " said Burns, who works with students on projects during the last period of the school day and has stayed with them for hours after the final bell has rung. "I always say, 'If you get this part done, you don't have to revisit math again. We'll go to the next subject area.' "
