Officials busy verifying which students will actually graduate

By Emily Richmond

Friday, June 10, 2005 | 9:34 a.m.

With commencement season under way, Clark County School District officials are busy verifying academic credits and proficiency exam results to determine how many members of the class of 2005 will be taking home diplomas.

As reported by the Sun last week, 9.5 percent of the 13,700 seniors did not pass the math exam in time to earn a diploma at graduation ceremonies this month.

Individual school results released Wednesday reveal that 1,353 seniors have not yet passed math.

At this time last year more than 2,200 students, about 19 percent of the senior class, had not passed the math proficiency exam.

Agustin Orci, deputy superintendent of instruction for the district, said he was pleased by the overall improvement in the pass rate on the math exam and credited it to increased tutoring, remedial programs and efforts by individual students, teachers and staff.

"We're very gratified at the progress," Orci said. "Of course, we won't be satisfied until every possible student passes."

Orci said he expected the pass rate to continue to climb. As participation rates for students in higher level math classes increase, more students should begin passing the math section as sophomores and juniors rather than having to take the exam over and over again into their senior years, Orci said.

"We'd love to see them all get it out of the way as quickly as possible," Orci said.

Students must have passing scores on the math, reading and writing sections of the exam in order to earn a diploma. Students who have completed the required 22.5 class credits but do not pass the exam receive a certificate of attendance.

The numbers of seniors who did not pass the math proficiency test ranged from a high of 119 at Eldorado High School to a zero at Advanced Technologies Academy and the Community College High School Program.

Most schools also had a handful of seniors still lacking passing scores in reading, but the majority of those are the same students who have not yet passed the math section.

District campuses with higher proportions of special education students and English Language Learners had correspondingly higher numbers of seniors who have not passed the math exam.

At Eldorado, 14 percent of the student body is special education students and 16 percent have limited proficiency in English.

By comparison Coronado High School, which has 14 seniors who have yet to pass the math proficiency exam, special education students make up 7.7 percent of the enrollment, and 2.1 percent of all students have limited proficiency in English.

One of the 74 seniors at Las Vegas High School who did not pass the math proficiency test, Ginger Reardon-Kalauokaaea, said next week's commencement ceremony has lost some of its appeal.

"I'm very disappointed," said Reardon-Kalauokaaea, who will receive a certificate of attendance rather than diploma. "I really thought I had made it this time."

She missed the passing score by six points. Reardon-Kalauokaaea said she plans to take the test again in July, pass and trade her certificate for a Las Vegas High School diploma. Members of the class of 2005 who pass the exam after July may still receive a diploma, but it will be issued by the district's adult education program.

The district's first commencement ceremony of the year, for Virgin Valley High School in Mesquite, was held at the campus Thursday. Graduation ceremonies continue through the end of next week at campuses, the Thomas & Mack Center and the Orleans Arena.