6/24/09

Suburban News

Khalila Perrin

* Students are taking Ohio Graduation Tests again this week, hoping to pass and get diploma.

Nearly 300 Columbus students are hoping they have enough correct answers to graduate as they try again to pass the Ohio Graduation Test this week.

If students pass the test this week, they’ll be able to graduate at Columbus City Schools’ summer commencement set for Aug. 22.

Seniors and other students are taking the OGT this week through Friday, June 26. The Ohio Department of Education will issue results by mid-August.

Some 230 Columbus seniors out of a class 2,889 had enough credits to graduate, but couldn’t because they didn’t pass one or more parts of the state standardized test, according to figures from the Columbus City Schools curriculum, leadership and development department.

Another 59 students failed to graduate in the spring commencement because they also didn’t earn enough credits to graduate.

Since the 2006-07 school year, seniors have been required to pass all five parts of the test. It includes math, science, social studies, reading and writing, to graduate.

Students take the OGT for the first time in their sophomore year and have three opportunities per year to test.

Despite passing all parts of the OGT, some 66 students out of the 2,889-student class failed to matriculate because they didn’t earn enough credits.

The percentage of students missing out on graduation because of missed credits was up from 2.3 to 2.6 percent compared to the class of 2008.

But in some ways seniors in the class of 2009 did better then their predecessors. Of the 2,779 seniors in the class of 2008, 221 failed to graduate in the spring commencement because of missing all or parts of the OGT — that’s 7.98 percent of seniors compared to the 7.96 percent in the 2009 class.

In its third year of existence, the state’s Alternative Pathways to Graduation provision provided 149 CCS seniors another way to meet the state’s requirement.

Last year 114 students took advantage of the offering.

Alternate pathway requirements include a minimum GPA of 2.5, a 97 percent minimum attendance rate in each of the past four school years and letters of recommendation. Requirements also stipulate that a student can only have failed one portion of the test, and that portion by 10 points or less, to qualify.

Arming parents with information sooner could be one reason more students sought the alternative pathway option this year, said Suzie Rhett, the district’s executive director of curriculum, leadership and development.

“We’ve been working with our younger students prior to their senior year,” and this year’s sixth- and ninth-graders will hear even more about state and district requirements, she said.

On Aug. 19, the district will host all-day orientations for the two incoming classes in the hopes of helping parents and students begin with the end in mind.

Transportation, breakfast and lunch will be provided.

“We’re taking a look at points where students come into new education settings. Part of that conversation (with students and parents) will be talking about graduation requirements (and) what it takes to have 100 percent success,” Rhett said.

District officials are aiming to reach a 90 percent graduation rate by the class of 2012. The graduate rate for the class of 2008 was 73.9 percent.

“In terms of graduation rate, that has not been calculated yet,” district spokeswoman Kim Norris said of the class of 2009.