Seniors will receive completion certificates
Morgan Hill – Students in the Morgan Hill School District’s class of 2006 who haven’t passed the California High School Exit Exam will be allowed to participate in the graduation ceremony, trustees voted Tuesday night.
As long as they have completed all other local and state requirements, the students will receive a certificate of completion instead of a diploma.
“Do we have anything in place for when these students graduate, to help them?” Trustee Kathy Sullivan asked of students who do not earn a diploma.
“Yes, they will sit down with an administrator and learn about the other options they have to complete their education,” said Pat Blanar, director of curriculum and assessment for the Morgan Hill Unified School District.
At least for the class of 2006, trustees voted to allow certain students to participate in the graduation ceremony. Students must have met all state and local requirements. They also must have participated in one or more intervention programs. They also must have taken the exit exam at least three times after 10th grade, including once in their senior year, Those students will also receive a certificate of completion rather than a high school diploma.
The high school exit exam is a seven-hour test in basic math and English. This year’s seniors are the first ones required to pass the exam to receive a high school diploma.
“Will it be made perfectly clear to these students that a certificate of completion does not carry the same weight as a diploma?” Trustee Don Moody asked.
“Administrators are working hard to do that,” said Blanar. “We don’t want them to stop (their education). But we hope, once we receive the results of the latest exam, that the number (of students who haven’t passed) will be different, it could be much smaller.”
At last report, 57 students needed to pass either one or both portions of the exam to graduate.
Students who had not passed either the math or English/language arts portion of the test had the opportunity to take them again in February, but results are not expected until April.
There will be a final opportunity for district seniors to take the test this year, in May, but results will not be available before the June 1 graduation.
Students who did take the test in February, however, reportedly felt more confident about their efforts than before, according to Blanar. The students have been participating in intensive online courses focused on math and English/language arts through Advanced Academics.
“They were saying, it was so much easier this time,” Blanar told trustees.
Superintendent Alan Nishino has said that his goal is to see all district students pass the exit exam on the first try when they take the test as sophomores.
He also told trustees he hopes they won’t have to decide what to do about students who take the test in May because he hopes all of them will have passed the February test.
“I think the Advanced Academics program has had a positive effect on these students,” Nishino said. “I’d like to think we won’t have to deal with the issue of whether or not they participate in graduation.”
Blanar told trustees that information presented during the March 14 board meeting was the most up to date the district has on the status of the class of 2006. The report shows there are 605 students in the class. Of those students, 88 percent have met all state and local graduation requirements, including passing both portions of the high school exit exam.
Of the 605 seniors, 75 still needed to pass one or both portions of the exam. Of those, 57 have met all other requirements, and 18 do not have enough credits to graduate.
Of those, 28 are females and 29 are males.; four are special education and English language learners; 10 of them entered the district since the November test was administered; three students are on independent study; one student is on home and hospital instruction; and one student is in the county special education program.
Trustees acknowledged that the decisions made for this year will have to be addressed again for the following year because there is a one-year waiver for the class of 2006 under Senate Bill 517.
The law allows students with disabilities who have met all local graduation requirements, but have not passed the exit exam, to receive a high school diploma and participate in the graduation ceremony.
