Lower math passing grade may hand seniors diplomas

By Emily Richmond

Tuesday, June 10, 2003 | 9:41 a.m.

As many as 1,000 Clark County high school seniors may wind up with diplomas instead of certificates of attendance thanks to a last-minute effort by lawmakers to lower the passing grade on the mathematics section of the statewide proficiency exam, district officials said today.

More than 2,000 seniors statewide -- 1,626 of them in Clark County -- failed the math section in May, the last chance to take and pass the test in time to graduate with their classes this month. Clark County's failure rate was three times that of last year, a result blamed in part on a tougher version of the math exam being used for the first time.

Lawmakers voted Friday to lower the passing score from 304 to 290 for this year's senior class, citing inconsistencies between what students are expected to know on the exam and the curriculum being taught in schools.

"We're punishing students for something that's beyond their control," said Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas, who spearheaded the amendment. "How can we ask them to answer questions about algebra and geometry when we're not requiring them to take those classes to graduate?"

Giunchigliani originally pushed for a two-year moratorium on requiring the math portion of the exam for graduation while state education officials studied how to better align curriciulum requirements. That measure failed.

The score change sent state education officials and individual school districts scrambling to determine which seniors may have met the new standard either in May or on a previous attempt at the test.

A final official list is expected later this week, said Paul LaMarca, director of testing and accountability for the Nevada Department of Education.

At Desert Pines High School administrators hand-checked student records and determined that an additional 28 seniors would be getting diplomas at today's commencement ceremony, Principal Roger Jacks said.

Desert Pines had one of the district's highest failure rates on the math portion of the exam.

The amendment to Senate Bill 1, the school funding bill passed in the current special legislative session and signed into law by Gov. Kenny Guinn, also requires school districts to let all seniors participate in graduation activities even if they have not passed the math section of the exam.

Clark County does not distinguish between seniors who receive certificates of attendance -- given to credit-sufficient seniors who have not passed the full proficiency exam -- and those receiving general diplomas. Carson City and Douglas County school districts do not allow credit-sufficient seniors to walk the stage unless they have passed the proficiency exam.

Nevada Board of Education member Barbara Myers, whose district includes Carson City and Douglas County, fought unsuccessfully in October to pass a new statewide policy that would require schools allow credit-sufficient seniors to participate in graduation even if they did not pass all portions of the proficiency exam. The fallout from the Legislature's decision is an unfortunate validation, Myers said this morning.

At Carson City High School, which held its graduation ceremonies on Saturday, six seniors were told Friday they would be allowed to participate in graduation because of the new, lower passing grade, Myers said.

"How do you get your grandparents here from New York to watch you graduate with just 12 hours' notice?" Myers said. "These kids didn't have their caps and gowns and their names weren't in the printed program. How was that fair to them or their families?"

Graduation for Douglas County's high school isn't until this Saturday, which gives the schools and students more time to prepare, Myers said.