County grads make the grade in 2009
New HSA requirement did not hamper Howard grads
By Jennifer Broadwater
jbroadwater@patuxent.com
Posted 5/27/09
A new state graduation requirement did not prevent any Howard County students from receiving their diplomas this week, according to county school officials.
The 3,636 seniors in Howard’s class of 2009 who accepted diplomas during ceremonies at Merriweather Post Pavilion this week were the first to be faced with a new set of graduation standards, the High School Assessment, a battery of exams in algebra, biology, 10th-grade English and government.
Howard County Superintendent of Schools Sydney Cousin praised the work of staff and students in meeting the new requirement.
“We’ve worked hard to be sure that every student who had passed their courses but hadn’t passed the HSA had the opportunity to meet the requirement through alternative paths,” Cousin said. “Staff has worked diligently.”
Maryland schools have administered the tests since 2001, although the class of 2009 is the first for which passing marks are required in order to receive a diploma. Graduates also must meet all other preexisting graduation criteria — passing a sufficient number of core courses and meeting attendance requirements among others.
The requirement has been a source of debate since its inception, with some fearing it would unfairly withhold diplomas from students who otherwise met the pre-existing graduation requirements, and others insisting proficiency in the core subjects as demonstrated through the tests is not an unreasonable expectation.
The state Board of Education reviewed statewide data on the number of seniors who fell short of the HSA requirement at its May 27 meeting, according to William Reinhard, a spokesman for the state Department of Education.
The data show that 1,460 students statewide — about 2.7 percent of seniors — had not met the requirement as of May 15.
However, the data reflected in the state report has changed in some counties, including Howard, where the report shows 16 students had yet to satisfy the HSA requirement.
A small number of Howard County’s senior class — a little over a dozen pupils — did not graduate as planned, although none were held back solely because of the HSA requirement, as they had failed to meet other graduation criteria, school system spokeswoman Patti Caplan said.
The state data includes those students, as well as some students who received waivers or otherwise met the requirement since May 15, Caplan said.
Cousin said he was not surprised at the county’s performance on the HSA, as he had received weekly reports on the progress of students in the class of 2009 who were in danger of not graduating.
“We have the interventions in place to assure students will graduate on time,” he said. “We want to have a great, great number of our students pass the tests, but we know there will be some who need to use alternative paths as well.”
Since voting in 2004 to make passing the tests mandatory for graduation beginning in 2009, state officials have made several modifications to the HSA requirement for students who do not pass the four exams outright.
Options include earning a minimum combined score on the exams or completing alternative academic “bridge” projects.
In December 2008, state officials added another alternative — a “limited waiver process” through which seniors with extenuating circumstances could be granted a reprieve from some or all of the requirement.
Under the waiver system, which currently applies only to the class of 2009, principals could recommend a waiver for particular students, or parents also could request a waiver for their child.
Students who would qualify for a waiver are those who have passed the necessary courses, met attendance requirements, taken the High School Assessment but failed one or more of the exams, met other local and state graduation requirements, and have participated in intervention programs aimed at helping them meet the requirement.
In Howard, 3,261 students met the requirement by passing the four exams, while 307 earned a sufficient combined score. Sixty students completed “bridge” projects in one or more subjects to meet the requirement, and eight students were granted a waiver.
County school officials have provided extra resources for students who have struggled with the tests, including the creation of “mastery” courses specific to the subjects covered by the exams.
The 3,636 seniors in Howard’s class of 2009 who accepted diplomas during ceremonies at Merriweather Post Pavilion this week were the first to be faced with a new set of graduation standards, the High School Assessment, a battery of exams in algebra, biology, 10th-grade English and government.
Howard County Superintendent of Schools Sydney Cousin praised the work of staff and students in meeting the new requirement.
“We’ve worked hard to be sure that every student who had passed their courses but hadn’t passed the HSA had the opportunity to meet the requirement through alternative paths,” Cousin said. “Staff has worked diligently.”
Maryland schools have administered the tests since 2001, although the class of 2009 is the first for which passing marks are required in order to receive a diploma. Graduates also must meet all other preexisting graduation criteria — passing a sufficient number of core courses and meeting attendance requirements among others.
The requirement has been a source of debate since its inception, with some fearing it would unfairly withhold diplomas from students who otherwise met the pre-existing graduation requirements, and others insisting proficiency in the core subjects as demonstrated through the tests is not an unreasonable expectation.
The state Board of Education reviewed statewide data on the number of seniors who fell short of the HSA requirement at its May 27 meeting, according to William Reinhard, a spokesman for the state Department of Education.
The data show that 1,460 students statewide — about 2.7 percent of seniors — had not met the requirement as of May 15.
However, the data reflected in the state report has changed in some counties, including Howard, where the report shows 16 students had yet to satisfy the HSA requirement.
A small number of Howard County’s senior class — a little over a dozen pupils — did not graduate as planned, although none were held back solely because of the HSA requirement, as they had failed to meet other graduation criteria, school system spokeswoman Patti Caplan said.
The state data includes those students, as well as some students who received waivers or otherwise met the requirement since May 15, Caplan said.
Cousin said he was not surprised at the county’s performance on the HSA, as he had received weekly reports on the progress of students in the class of 2009 who were in danger of not graduating.
“We have the interventions in place to assure students will graduate on time,” he said. “We want to have a great, great number of our students pass the tests, but we know there will be some who need to use alternative paths as well.”
Since voting in 2004 to make passing the tests mandatory for graduation beginning in 2009, state officials have made several modifications to the HSA requirement for students who do not pass the four exams outright.
Options include earning a minimum combined score on the exams or completing alternative academic “bridge” projects.
In December 2008, state officials added another alternative — a “limited waiver process” through which seniors with extenuating circumstances could be granted a reprieve from some or all of the requirement.
Under the waiver system, which currently applies only to the class of 2009, principals could recommend a waiver for particular students, or parents also could request a waiver for their child.
Students who would qualify for a waiver are those who have passed the necessary courses, met attendance requirements, taken the High School Assessment but failed one or more of the exams, met other local and state graduation requirements, and have participated in intervention programs aimed at helping them meet the requirement.
In Howard, 3,261 students met the requirement by passing the four exams, while 307 earned a sufficient combined score. Sixty students completed “bridge” projects in one or more subjects to meet the requirement, and eight students were granted a waiver.
County school officials have provided extra resources for students who have struggled with the tests, including the creation of “mastery” courses specific to the subjects covered by the exams.
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