With five months until graduation, about 35 percent of Baltimore’s 4,000 high school seniors have not passed the High School Assessment, which is required to graduate starting this academic year, data shows.
Still, nearly 300 students in the traditionally poorly performing district passed the test in December, according to data being presented to the Baltimore school board tonight.
Statewide, about 83 percent of 55,000 seniors had met the requirement in October, but state education department officials estimate that number has climbed to about 93 percent.
While critics fear the requirement will deny many students a diploma, supporters have claimed the requirement could boost graduation rates by pushing more attention onto struggling students.
Andres Alonso, chief executive officer of the city school system, strongly backed the graduation requirement. He praised the improvements students have shown and said it is too early to say if the requirement will keep students from graduating.
“I think the students are making extraordinary progress, reflecting the work that is going on in the schools and the amount of attention and differentiation that is being provided by administrators and teachers in order to support seniors,” Alonso said.
The requirement mandates that seniors pass HSAs in four areas, earn a combined score on the exams of at least 1602 or complete projects under the “Bridge Plan” to receive a diploma.
City schools have encouraged students to work on Bridge projects, and about 1,300 have been submitted by students in all high school grade levels. Students may be required to do multiple projects based on how poorly they performed on exams, and officials estimate that 24 seniors have used the projects so far to meet the requirement, said Ben Feldman, director of research, evaluation and accountability for city schools.
Bebe Verdery, education director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland, which has criticized the requirement, pointed out that the chances students have to meet all requirements are dwindling.
“City schools are putting forth a great effort to help students meet HSA requirements,” she said, “but the State Board of Education’s imposition of this requirement for the 2009 class will likely make it impossible for many students to get a diploma who would otherwise graduate.”
