Seniors have two more shots at proficiency tests

By Emily Richmond

Monday, April 4, 2005 | 10:46 a.m.

Close to one out of every five Clark County high school seniors still needs a passing score on the Nevada State High School Proficiency Exam in order to earn a diploma in June, district officials confirmed Friday.

There are two opportunities remaining for 12th graders to pass the proficiency test prior to commencement, including a round of the exams being administered Tuesday.

Of the 13,700 students in this year's senior class, 19.2 percent, or 2,627 students, need passing scores on one or more sections of the exam.

Of those students 2,507, or 18.3 percent of the senior class, need to pass the math proficiency exam. And 5.6 percent of those seniors, or 761 students, need passing scores on the reading exam.

Of the district's total non-proficient 12th graders, 16.5 percent are English Language Learners and 26 percent are in special education classes.

For the February round of the math test, the district's pass rate for seniors was 27 percent, up from 22.3 percent in February 2004. The pass rate for the reading test was also improved, at 34.4 percent compared with 31.2 percent in the prior year.

At 37 percent, Rancho High School has the district's highest percentage of seniors still needing to pass the math proficiency test. Las Vegas Academy has the district's lowest percentage at 3.4 percent. Liberty High School had the district's highest percentage of seniors still needing to pass the reading test, at 14.5 percent. Coronado had the lowest percentage of its seniors still needing to pass the reading test, at 2 percent.

Seniors who complete the required courses but do not pass both the math and reading sections of the state proficiency exam are awarded "Certificates of Attendance" instead of full diplomas. Last year 19 percent of the district's 12th graders received "Certificates of Attendance" solely because of a lack of a passing score on one or more sections of the proficiency test.

Sue Daellenbach, testing director for the district, said the improved math performance is especially encouraging given that the passing score was raised, to 296 from 293.

She credited the gains to more focused classroom instruction, additional tutorials and a new diagnostic test that allows teachers to identify their students' strengths and weaknesses.

The district's sophomores will make their first attempts at the proficiency test Tuesday.

Clark County Schools Superintendent Carlos Garcia has set a goal of a 50 percent pass rate for the sophomore class.

"The sooner they get this under the belts the less time they'll spend worrying about it down the road," Garcia said.

Students have two additional opportunities to pass in their junior year and four attempts are allowed in the senior year.

Tuesday's exams are important not only for individual students but for schools and the district as a whole; the results of the April round of the proficiency exam are used to calculate "adequate yearly progress" under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Results for the sophomore class of 2003-04 are combined with the results from this year's junior class to determine the school's overall score.

Each school must have a minimum of 95 percent of students participate in the proficiency test, and also meet the same threshold by subgroups, including special education status and ethnicity.

Rancho has been aggressively campaigning to remind students to show up for school tomorrow.

Rancho Principal Bob Chesto has gone so far as to gather raffle prizes, including a donated used car, that will be awarded to students who show up and take the exam.

"It's a shame that we have to bribe kids to come to school," said Rancho math teacher Debra Reed. "But I guess you do what you gotta do."

Reed, who teaches the school's math applications class for seniors who still need to pass the proficiency test, said everyone is aware of the stakes.

"Yes, there's pressure but I feel pressure every single one of these times when the kids have to go in and perform," Reed said. "You want them to do well and it's emotional for all of us when we see students struggling."

Angelica Orozco, a senior at Rancho, will make her fourth attempt at the math proficiency test tomorrow, said she believed a passing grade in math class should suffice for a diploma.

"The final exam (in the class) should be the proficiency test," Orozco said. "This is really hard and stressful, and I don't get the point of it."

Her classmate Araceli Beltran came within two questions of a passing score on the February round of the exam an believes this time she'll be successful.

"I'm confident but scared at the same time," Beltran said. "I want to go to community college and study business. I can't do that if I don't get a diploma."