Kelsey Volkmann, The Examiner
2007-10-31 07:00:00.0
Current rank: Not ranked

Parents worry their children’s futures could rest on the results of the proposed state high school assessments. Superintendents say the exams would bring higher standards to the classroom. Business leaders see the tests as a measure of how well school has prepared potential employees for the work world.

Today, at last, the state Board of Education is to vote on the controversial High School Assessments, which students would have to pass to graduate starting with the class of 2009.

As the board reviewed the tests Tuesday, the assessments still divided members.

Board member David Tufaro said the tests covered basic knowledge of algebra, government, biology and English and that if parents actually looked at sample questions, he said, they’d see how easy they are.

“There are those who don’t want HSAs, period,” Tufaro said. “Those critical of HSAs should go online and take the tests themselves. These are not challenging. It’s what you would expect anyone to know.”

Another board member, Rosa Garcia, wondered whether students learning English as a second language are receiving enough help to prepare for the high school exit exams.

Business leaders said the tests would improve the quality of employees and job applicants.

“You can either give out a diploma that represents little or deny that diploma to some to make sure it represents a high standard,” said June Streckfus, executive director of the Maryland Business Roundtable.

But Sue Allison, a mother of two and director of Marylanders Against High-Stakes Testing, raised concerns about unregulated, out-of-state test-scoring companies making mistakes and ruining the chances of students’ graduating.

“There’s no way the state can guarantee that a student won’t be denied a diploma because of a company’s error,” she said.

Another mother, Naznin Adams, worried that her son, Taariq, who wants to attend college to study theater, won’t even graduate because of the tests.

Taariq, 17, is autistic and attends Kennedy Krieger High School in Baltimore. He earned an A in algebra but due to the state’s mishandling of paperwork, she said, he wasn’t granted the extra time typically offered to disabled students to complete the corresponding Algebra test and failed.

“He gets to take the test again in January but now he has to re-learn everything, and to me that is just unfair,” she said.

“My son already has anxiety issues for taking assessments. I am really worried he won’t graduate high school. And he isn’t alone. A lot of students with disabilities are getting short-changed in the High School Assessment process.”

Asked Tuesday about special education students taking the test, state schools Superintendent Nancy Grasmick said all students who are granted accommodations during everyday lessons would be given the same opportunities for extra time and help during the tests.

kvolkmann@baltimoreexaminer.com