High school seniors get last crack at exams

By Emily Richmond

Monday, May 19, 2003 | 10:56 a.m.

For Western High School senior Amanda Reber, there's only one thing standing between her and a diploma -- a passing grade Tuesday on the mathematics section of the statewide proficiency exam.

"It's upsetting and scary that everything's hanging on this one test," said Reber, a B-average student who sailed through the reading and writing sections of the exam on her first try two years ago.

"I've studied, and I'm taking the (proficiency preparedness) class, but I know when I sit down tomorrow, there's still going to be a lot of stuff I still don't understand."

Reber is not alone. More than 25 percent of Clark County's high school seniors will sit for at least one section of the statewide proficiency exam this week, their last chance to pass in time to get a diploma with their classmates in June.

One-quarter of the 12,268 students in the class of 2003 still need to pass the mathematics portion of the exam, while 10.6 percent lack the reading section and 8.8 percent the writing section, according to figures provided by the district's testing office. The exam will be given Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

The districtwide failure rate for the proficiency exam was 5.5 percent last year, up slightly from the 4.1 percent in the 2000-01 academic year, according to school officials.

Western High School has the highest percentage in the district of seniors still lacking passing scores on the math exam -- 46 percent out of a class of 340. The averages at the district's other high schools ranged from zero -- Advanced Technologies Academy -- to 17 percent at Foothill and 24 percent at Chaparral.

Educators say the ultimate goal is to have as many students as possible pass the full exam, no matter how many tries it takes.

"Kids are facing enough stress, it's a mistake to look at this round of the exam as the last chance," Len Paul, superintendent of the district's northwest region, said. "The reality is we have summer tutoring programs, classes at the community college, lots of ways those seniors can finish up the exam after school is out for the year."

Seniors who do not pass the exam this week, but have completed their coursework, will be allowed to take part in graduation ceremonies and will receive a certificate of attendance rather than a regular diploma.

Washoe County, the state's second-largest school district after Clark County, also does not differentiate at graduation ceremonies between students who earn regular diplomas and those who receive the certificates. Several smaller districts, including Carson City and Lyon County, do not allow students receiving certificates to participate in commencement.

Reber said she'll know the difference at Western's graduation ceremonies June 11, even if no one else does.

"I want the real diploma," Reber said. "I've worked hard for four years. I don't know if I would go back to school in the summer if I don't pass this time. I might just say, 'Well, that's it."'

There's no question the pressure is on for many seniors to perform this time around, said Jon Herring, a Clark County teacher finishing up a special assignment to the district's testing office. Officials from the state education department will receive the exams by the end of the week and beginning scoring immediately, so that the results will be ready before graduation, Herring said.

The exam results are distributed by the schools when they are available, but that doesn't keep anxious parents and students frequently call the testing office to ask about them, Herring said.

"Sometimes they're worried, sometimes they're angry, a lot of times they're frustrated," Herring said. "It's a tense time for everyone."

The 26 percent of seniors still needing to take the exam include special education students, some of whom may decide after not passing to seek an adjusted diploma, district officials said.

"Historically, the kids we see who wait for this last test are ones who have been knocking them off one at a time, instead of trying to pass it all at once," said Jane Kadoich, director of guidance and counseling for the school district. "When I hear from parents who are just beside themselves with worry, I tell them that graduation can still be a joyous time no matter what happens with the test. Their child will still participate, they'll still walk in the line, and there are chances later to take the test again."

This is the first year students have had to take a revised, and more difficult version, of the math portion of the exam, as required by the 1996 Nevada Education Reform Act. In addition to the math, reading and writing portions, a science section is scheduled to be added to the exam in 2005.

Citing inconsistencies between the test questions and math curriculum at local school districts, the Assembly Ways and Means Committee last week approved a bill that calls for a two-year moratorium on requiring the math portion of the exam for a high school diploma.

The bill isn't intended to "dumb down" math standards, said Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, following the bill's approval by the committee.

"How can we expect every student to correctly answer questions on geometry and algebra when some have not taken those subjects because they are not required courses in every school district?" Perkins said in a written statement. "We are setting our kids up for failure."

Salina Solis, who dropped out of Bonanza High School in part because of her frustration over failing the math portion of the exam six times, said she wished the moratorium had been in effect when she was still in school.

"I was desperate. I did tutoring, practice tests, and went for extra help every day," said Solis, who eventually graduated last year with a diploma from one of Clark County's alternative high schools. "If you don't learn the stuff the whole way through high school, you're not going to know it when the finally give you the test. It's impossible to catch up."

The Clark County School District has already been taking steps to improve student performance on the math portion of the proficiency exam, increasing student enrollment in algebra by the eighth grade from 25 percent in 1999 to more than 50 percent this year, Agustin Orci, deputy superintendent of instruction, said. In addition, beginning next fall algebra will become a required course for graduation, Orci said.