Calculators disallowed for high school proficiency test

Teresa Hinds

Friday, July 25, 1997 | 9:30 a.m.

Nevada students no longer will be allowed to use calculators on the high school proficiency exam, but the state Board of Education voted to give them five shots at passing the test.

Board members spent the better part of Thursday listening to public testimony and debating the merits of the use of calculators on the proficiency test, the number of times the students can take it and when the new exam will be administered.

Despite the urging to allow the use of calculators on a portion of the test by Jim Brant, an education consultant for the state Department of Education, the board instead sided with member Dave Cook's plea to ban them.

"This test should be entirely without calculators," Cook said. "Students had better be able to do it with a pencil and eraser or our system has failed.

"We're asking for a demonstration of fundamental skills. It would be a wonderful message to send that in Nevada we require the use of a pencil and paper."

Equity also played a part in the board's decision. The suggestion that the use of calculators be optional was met with arguments that some students may have access to more sophisticated types of calculators than other students and that some students wouldn't have access to any type of calculator because they couldn't afford one.

Board member Lilliam Hickey was the only one to oppose the calculator ban.

In addition to banning the use of calculators, the board voted to give students one more chance than they have now to pass the proficiency exam. They also voted to pilot the new test in October, which will serve as a validity and reliability barometer.

Students previously were given four chances to pass the test during their junior and senior years.

The test was first administered to juniors in February. If they didn't pass that test, they could take the test again in their senior year in October and February and following graduation in July.

With Thursday's unanimous vote, the test will be offered six times, but students can't take the test more than five times. Students who fail the test five times will be referred to adult education for a GED certificate.

The test now will be offered during October and April of a student's junior year, and again in October, January, April and July of a student's senior year.

The July test is offered to give students one last chance to earn their diploma from the high school they attended.

The 1997-98 school year will be the only year the October test score does not count, since it will serve as the pilot for the new test.

During the discussion on how many times students should be allowed to take the test, a suggestion was made that they have six chances to pass the proficiency exam.

But board member Gary Waters balked at the suggestion.

"If they fail the test five times, something is wrong," Waters said. "Five times is enough. If you can't pass it after five times, maybe you shouldn't have a diploma. We're talking about high standards here, that isn't a high standard."