Wednesday, June 04, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

CLARK COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT: Proficiency exam failure rate triples

More than 1,600 seniors did not pass math section

The failure rate for high school seniors taking the state-required proficiency exam has nearly tripled in the Clark County School District.

In 2002, the proficiency failure rate for Clark County seniors was 5.5 percent. This year, preliminary state reports show that the failure rate is about 16 percent.

For the class of 2003, 1,626 district seniors who meet the state's credit requirements did not pass the updated math section of the graduation exam. In reading, 301 district seniors did not earn passing scores. Writing test results are not yet available.

An overall figure is still being calculated since some students may have failed more than one part of the test.

Those who do not pass all three sections of the exam but meet the state's credit requirements are given a certificate of attendance instead of a diploma at graduation. The district has about 10,255 credit-sufficient seniors.

"I went to pick up my daughter at school today because I knew she failed the math test," said Alicia Coleman, whose daughter Keshawn Overton is a senior at Desert Pines High School. "Let me tell you, there were a lot of emotions at that school. There were kids who were just one or two or three points away from passing."

Coleman said she doesn't object to the test. Her criticism is that the test includes questions on algebra and geometry, which her daughter never took or was advised to take. Her daughter has met every requirement for graduation, except for passing the math portion of the exit exam.

"Where was she supposed to learn it?" Coleman asked Tuesday. "If the students can't pass the test, then the schools aren't teaching them what they're supposed to know. We have enough problems keeping our kids in school at this age. This just makes it worse."

Although algebra isn't required by the state to be one of three math credits a student must complete to graduate, this school year the Clark County School District passed a policy that requires high school students to take one year of algebra.

That's one measure the district has taken to help students tackle the increased level of difficulty on the proficiency test.

"We're taking a lot of steps to give these kids every opportunity," said Agustin Orci, the district's deputy superintendent of instruction. "Our job is to prepare these kids for the proficiency, and that's what we're going to do."

Seniors had seven or more chances to take the exam before June graduations. They will have another shot at the test in July, and can also retake the test next school year.

The exit exam has been a state requirement since 1982, but legislators have mandated more rigorous content in recent years. The class of 2003 is the first group required to take a revised version of the math test based on 1998 state standards. It replaced a test built on 1994 Nevada curriculum standards.

The new math exam is graded on a scale of 0 to 500. The passing score in math is set at 304, meaning students will have to correctly answer about 61 percent of the test questions.

In reading, students need to earn a scale score of 251. The third component of the proficiency exam is a writing test, which is graded on a scale of 1 to 6, with a 3.5 needed to pass.

A higher failure rate on the new math test was evident early on. When Nevada's class of 2003 took the revised exam for the first time as juniors, 52 percent of 16,000 students failed it.

Orci said that's why the district now requires all students to take algebra in high school. The district also is expanding an initiative to enroll eighth-graders in middle school algebra classes. Next year, Orci said he expects to see about 65 percent of all eighth-graders enrolled in algebra.

"With algebra and geometry a part of the test, that's going to help," Orci said, adding that the district offers proficiency remediation throughout the year and also during the summer.

Orci also said it is incumbent on students to take advantage of those opportunities.

"Kids sometimes don't get serious until it's way too late," Orci said. "And when you're talking about algebra, it's not something you can learn overnight."

Coleman agreed, and then criticized the district for not making sure that every student was put in those courses.

"If it's on the test, why isn't it required?" Coleman asked. "That says to me that CCSD is not meeting its obligations."

State Superintendent of Schools Jack McLaughlin said that statewide, 2,135 credit-sufficient seniors out of 18,588 seniors eligible for graduation failed the math test. That's about 12 percent.

It's not unusual for the failure rate to increase in the first year of a new test, he said, but the numbers do concern him. Students discouraged by repeated failure may stop trying, an outcome that might result in higher dropout rates for Nevada.

"It's discouraging and it is a problem we have to address," McLaughlin said. "It's something the State Board of Education wants to look more closely at."

McLaughlin called Clark County's steps toward increasing its math requirements a positive move.

"A common complaint we hear from students is that no one ever told them they had to take algebra or geometry," McLaughlin said.