Hundreds take another shot at ‘The Test’

Benjamin Grove

Wednesday, June 16, 1999 | 11:12 a.m.

Thirty-five Clark and Durango high school seniors trudged back to Durango today, still chasing diplomas two weeks after their classmates graduated.

The students joined several hundred others across the district who sat down at area high schools to take the state's exit exam -- many for the sixth time.

The students have not yet passed the controversial Proficiency Examination, a state requirement to earn a diploma. Most have the classroom credits they need to graduate -- but have not yet passed either the math and reading sections of the test.

"I feel so nervous -- oh, my God," said Jeannette Hernandez, who has come within two points of passing the math section of the test. The 19-year-old said she has been studying sample tests to prepare for today. She walked through graduation ceremonies, but was handed a certificate of attendance, not a diploma.

In all, 797 Clark County seniors did not pass the test this year -- the highest number ever, roughly 8 percent of seniors. That's because state officials made the test harder and raised the scores students need to pass.

Durango had a 96.2 percent pass rate on the exit exam -- 23 of the school's 612 seniors did not pass the test. Still, only 12 of them showed up today to take another shot at the test.

"The others may not be ready to accept the challenge," said Durango assistant principal Dawn Shupe.

Many district high schools held a week-long test review class, which began June 7. Students met for two hours each morning.

Many students who have not yet passed the test struggle with basic math facts, such as multiplication tables or fractions -- understanding that one-fifth is equal to 20 percent, for instance, said district testing director Judy Costa.

The state Legislature allotted $300,000 in state money for remediation classes for students who have not passed the exam. Clark County plans to apply for $73,000 of that to pay teachers for two two-week sessions in July. The test is being given again on July 2 and July 30.

District officials also want to create special summer school sessions for low-ability students who will be seniors in the upcoming school year.

"We want to start drilling them on skills that they don't know so that when they hit their remedial classes in 12th grade, they will be ready to work on concepts," Costa said.

Of the 797 students who have not passed at least one of the sections, 718 have not passed the math section. Of those 718, 307 of them are designated "special education." Another 131 are not native English speakers.

District officials have not yet calculated how many of those 718 students did not have enough credits to graduate anyway.

The test has become a topic of controversy because some parents and students have argued that state officials made the test more difficult without warning students that they would need to take more math classes, such as geometry.

"To a certain extent, it's not fair because our credits don't matter," said Chaparral High School graduate Saul Amaro, who took the test five times before finally passing in April. "You can have all the credits, but if you don't have the test, you can't graduate."

The 19-year-old plans to attend community college this fall and eventually become a police officer. He vividly remembers the day several months ago when his counselor interrupted his government class to tell him that he had passed.

"I was shocked," Amaro said. "I hugged her, and I asked her if she was sure. Before the test I had told my mom that if I pass it, I pass it. If I don't, I don't. I was tired of all the stress."

Durango principal Allen Coles said teachers and counselors would be working with the school's incoming senior class to prepare them for the tests -- encouraging them to take algebra and geometry and getting them remedial help if they need it.

"I think they are going to be working harder," Coles said. "They know that the bar has been raised."

Durango student Brandon Voyles said he had not taken the test seriously during his senior year, but had studied sample tests to prepare for today.

"I'm not going to say that it is really that hard," Voyles said. "I have just been putting it off, doing other things, and not studying."