Thousands of high school students flunk tougher graduation exam

Monday, May 18, 1998 | 9:54 a.m.

Preliminary results show that 21 percent of students fell short in reading and 33 percent were deficient in math.

"You shouldn't be happy about the numbers. But this is a typical first-time result," Stanley Rabinowitz, a Department of Education consultant, told board members Friday.

About 15,000 juniors took the exam in April. Those who failed have four more chances to retake the test and pass.

The 1997 Legislature mandated the tougher proficiency exam as part of a comprehensive effort to improve the quality of public education in Nevada. Students can't graduate unless they pass it.

The old exam, administered a final time last year, was intended to "ensure minimum levels of proficiency. It featured 100 questions, 50 each in reading and math.

The new test is longer, with 64 questions in reading and 72 in math. It also includes questions in geometry and algebra.

On Friday, board members agreed students must score at least 70 percent in reading and 61 percent in math if they want a diploma.

But they said that within the next two years, the minimum score will be raised to 70 percent for math and 75 percent for reading.

"When I look at the test, I'm not finding any questions that are unreasonable for a high school graduate to know," board member Bill Hanlon said.

But board members expressed concern over statistical information assembled from preliminary data.

The math failure rate among black students was 60 percent, almost double the statewide average.

More than half of Hispanic students also failed in math. Hispanic students also had the highest rate of failure in reading - 44 percent.

"I share your concern about the differential performance," Rabinowitz said. "But the test, in my opinion, is not biased."