Students statewide will take the High School Assessments next week as a requirement for graduation, and officials worry that scoring delays will keep failing students from getting the help they need.
Beginning with the class of 2009, students must pass all four of the state-mandated HSAs in order to receive their diplomas. But students who take the test in May won?t get their scores until August, forcing a growing number of students to have to reschedule to retake the tests in the next semester.
“The intentions, in terms of accountability, may be noble; but the logistics are near impossible,” said David Volrath, executive director for secondary education in Harford County Schools.
Because the tests in algebra, English, biology and government are scored by Measurement Inc. and compiled by the Educational Testing Service for the Maryland State Department of Education, test results take from two to three months to be returned.
By then, Volrath said, it is already too late to enroll failing students into summer classes.
“You?re asking for a reorganization two weeks before school starts,” Volrath said. “The best I can tell principals is to look at past failure rates and make a guess.”
In Anne Arundel County, mid-semester tests will give the schools better estimates of performance on the exams, said Coordinator of English Anelle R. Tumminello.
MSDE had sought feedback from schools when planning the tests, and the majority supported an end-of-course assessment including essays and written answers, said Gary Heath, assistant state superintendent for Accountability and Assessment.
“It?s hard to score 70,000 English tests in a day … but when we deliver, it?s a very accurate score,” Heath said.
Shortening the wait will be an issue when the state puts its contract up for bids again this year, he said.
In Carroll County schools, where students have four semesters per year and four classes per day, the additional opportunities for testing allows more flexibility in remediation, said Director of Research and Accountability Gregg Bricca.
Anne Arundel, Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Harford and Howard schools all give the HSAs to most students in May, reserving the January and summer testing dates for students who missed the first date.
While schools are getting no extra state funding specifically for remediation, Carroll schools have requested more money for teachers and tutors ? the equivalent of one full-time position per high school ? that will be assigned specifically to helping students prepare for re-testing, Bricca said.
