By late April, Montgomery County had fewer than 500 of 10,000 seniors who hadn't passed the requirement. About the same time, Baltimore City reported that all but about 750 of 4,088 seniors had met the requirement and more than a thousand projects were in the process of being sent in for grading.
Earlier this week, city school officials said 10 percent or less of their students, or about 400, would not graduate. In both those systems, a significant number of students are expected to get waivers.
At the Baltimore Talent Development High School, principal Jeffrey Robinson said he believed only two of his approximately 100 students would not graduate because of the new requirement and he said both of those students had been offered help multiple times and had not made an effort.
That was not the case in the beginning of the year, when about a third of his senior class had not met the requirement. Robinson said he believes students who apply themselves can meet the standard. One student who did a project took the algebra test again recently and passed. "This is a kid who is very limited, but he is determined," Robinson said.
Some school officials said they expect the enormous effort some students had to put into the projects will translate into higher pass rates among underclassmen who are being told by their elders to study harder because the tests are easier than the projects.
Cindy Hudson, specialist in the office of school performance in Anne Arundel, said the requirement also has helped struggling students get more individualized attention this year. Hudson said the county has a team assembled to grade projects, even those handed in days before graduation.
Some school systems also have talked about allowing students to complete the projects after school ends and get a diploma in the mail this summer.
