Seniors may get another shot at test

High school seniors who have not yet passed the state's new exit exam may have one more shot at it before graduation.

Members of the State Board of Education said they might schedule one more test date before the end of the school year. The board was expected to vote on adding a test as early as today.

"If there are students who are willing to take the test again, I really think we need to give them every opportunity to take it," board member Gary Waters said Thursday.

Roughly 1,800 Clark County seniors have not yet passed the newer, more difficult version of the Nevada Proficiency Exam.

When students statewide took the test in February, only 954 of 3,320 passed the math section and 744 of 1,839 passed the reading section.

Seniors across the state took the test again this week. Scores will be calculated by May 15, officials said.

Students know that if they failed the test again this week, their last chance to take the test is in June, days after their classmates have walked through graduation ceremonies.

"We've got a lot of kids who were at a disadvantage," board member Jan Biggerstaff said. "This year's seniors got a raw deal."

The state Legislature in 1997 ordered that the exit exam be made more difficult as part of a push to raise standards in Nevada schools.

The more difficult version of the test was first taken by juniors -- this year's seniors -- in April 1998. The State Board of Education also raised the scores students need to pass the test.

As a result, more students have been failing the exam.

Some students say they didn't take upper-level math courses because that material was not on the test. They say it's not fair to change the test now.

"They put geometry on the exam, and I never took geometry," said Melissa Mason, a Clark High School senior. "They keep making the test harder, and they never told us about it."

Mason's mother is frustrated, too.

"I want someone to hang," Cindy Mason said. "They told her two years too late (that she needed geometry)."

Seventeen-year-old Mason took basic math and pre-algebra -- the two years of math required by the district. Mason most recently missed passing the math section by four percentage points. Since then, she has taken a $40 test-taking course for practice.

"I did as well as I could," said Mason, who took the test for the fourth time Thursday. "My life is hanging right there. I'll have just one more chance after this."

Students must score a 61 percent on the math section and a 70 percent on the reading section to pass.

The state's testing coordinator said some of the students who have not passed the proficiency exam may not have graduated anyway because they don't have enough credits. Thomas McIntosh said many students didn't pass because they simply don't have the math skills.

"Should they get a diploma?" McIntosh asked the board. "We have to think about that."

Board member Waters said the test was a "wake-up call" for guidance counselors who should push ninth graders to take more challenging classes like geometry.

Waters said there was a bright side to the higher failure rates.

"On the good side, we do have students who are graduating with higher levels of proficiency," he said.

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