Graduation proposal meets opposition

By Emily Richmond (contact)

Monday, Oct. 21, 2002 | 11:06 a.m.

A proposal to force local school districts to allow seniors who do not pass the state proficiency exam to participate in graduation activities has been sidelined after being met with vehement opposition from nearly every corner.

Students who complete the required high school credits but do not pass all portions of the state's proficiency exam are given certificates of attendance, rather than diplomas.

Clark and Washoe counties, the state's two largest school districts, do not differentiate between the two groups of students during graduation activities. Several smaller districts, including Carson City and Lyon County, do not allow students receiving certificates to participate in commencement.

The state Board of Education considered a plan to change that Saturday.

Clark County School Board President Sheila Moulton told the board she supported leaving the question of graduation participation to individual districts.

"This is a matter of local control," Moulton said.

The statewide change was initially proposed by state board member Barbara Meyers, who said she heard from constituents in Carson City upset that students were being "stigmatized." After the Carson City School Board refused to change, Meyers took her case to the state board.

However, board members backed away from the proposal after hearing from dozens of outraged educators, business leaders and parents -- primarily from Northern Nevada -- during their board meeting Saturday in Las Vegas.

The board instead voted to send a letter to all 18 Nevada school districts, asking them to voluntarily put their graduation participation requirements into writing.

Opponents of the change said to lower the requirement for commencement participation would punish the students who completed the requirements while rewarding those who simply showed up for school.

"Graduation is a reward, not a right of passage," Robert McKenna, trustee for the Carson City School Board, said.

Robert Crowell, president of the Carson City School Board, called the proposed change an "unwarranted and offensive intrusion into a matter of local jurisdiction."

The change did receive some support Saturday. Tom Klein, a testing consultant for the state education board, said that holding out commencement participation to students as a motivational carrot often backfires.

Many students with strong grades and academic records struggle to pass a particular portion of the exam, Klein said. As graduation day approaches, their testing anxiety is only enhanced, making it less likely that they will succeed, he said.

Clark County School District officials also supported the practice of allowing all students to participate.

Agustin Orci, deputy superintendent of instruction for the district, said this morning often seniors have one portion of the proficiency exam to pass when graduation day arrives.

"We want to encourage kids that there is still summer school, there is still adult education options to help them meet that goal," Orci said. "We want them to know that completing their high school course work is a significant accomplishment that should be valued."

In 2001, 9,571 diplomas were handed out at Clark County high school commencement ceremonies, along with 544 certificates of attendance. It wasn't known this morning how many of the Clark County seniors awarded certificates of attendance later received the full diploma.

David Sheffield, president of the state board, said the board considered changing the rule because of instances in which test scores have been inaccurately reported. Students might be denied the one-time opportunity to walk with their class because of an administrative error, Sheffield said.

Sheffield said the board wasn't interested in wresting control from local districts but in ensuring every student had equal access to a fair policy and practice.