Nearly one in five high school seniors in Montgomery County will fail to graduate this spring unless they are quickly able to pass standardized tests or complete one of several alternative projects.
According to data released this week by the Maryland State Department of Education, Montgomery ranks 19th of 24 state school districts in its percentage of seniors yet to pass all four tests required this year before receiving a diploma.
Overall, 83 percent of Maryland’s seniors have passed the tests. Neighboring Prince George’s County ranks last in the state, with fewer than 65 percent of its seniors on track to graduate.
Broken down by subgroup, Montgomery County’s black and Hispanic minorities are at greatest risk.
Fewer than 73 percent of the 1,430 black seniors to have taken the English test had passed it by spring of 2008. About 76 percent of Hispanic test-takers had passed, compared with more than 95 percent of white test-takers.
“This is the focus of our work,” said school board member Sharon Cox, explaining that districts have had difficulty obtaining specific data from the state that would tell teachers where exactly students need help.
Students are required to pass four tests — one each in algebra, English, biology and government. English has proven the toughest to master, with more than one in 10 failures in Montgomery County, while the government test has caused the fewest problems, with a nearly 95 percent passage rate.
One consequence of linking the tests to a diploma may be more older students in high school classrooms, Cox said.
“Students can stay in school till they’re 21 years old,” she said. “That’s a good thing, but there are the issues with enrollment and overcrowding, especially in a time of economic downturn.”
Cox said English-language learners may be the most likely students to return to school at 19, 20 and 21 years old.
A motion yesterday at the state school board meeting to delay the linking of the assessments with a diploma failed 7-4.
The data reflect the most recent round of scored tests, given in the spring of 2008. Students will have had two additional opportunities to take the tests in January and April.
