FAYETTEVILLE — There is more pressure for incoming high school freshmen to perform well in math than there was in the past.
Starting with this year's ninth grade - the Class of 2013 - students must pass the End of Course Algebra I exam to receive credit for the class, Arkansas Department of Education spokeswoman Julie Thompson said.
The change ushers in a new era in Arkansas of what educators call "high stakes testing."
"That phrase is definitely applicable," Fayetteville Woodland Junior High Principal Anita Lawson said.
High schools in Arkansas already administer end-of-course exams in such subjects as Algebra I, geometry, Algebra II and biology. There is also a literacy test for juniors, although it is not called an end-of-course exam.
Up until now, test performance did not have any bearing on whether a student actually received credit for the class.
"To pin receiving credit and graduating on one test on one certain day is definitely highstakes," West Fork Superintendent Diane Barrett said.
"Certainly, it's stringent for a kid that may pass the class and void of this requirement, may have received the credit," Fayetteville Ramay Junior High Principal Matt Saferite said.
The test will be given in the spring at most schools, although it could be administered this fall at schools that follow certain block schedules, Thompson said.
There are some protocols in place, however, designed to give the students ample opportunities to pass the exam, Thompson said.
For one, if the student does not pass the test they take it up to four times. If they fail it the first time, they will also go through remediation, she said, which is a tutoring-type program designed to provide extra help.
Remediation classes are usually held during a class period.
Also, the passing grade on the exam is not as stringent as scoring in the proficient or advanced levels on end-of-course tests. The state typically classifies scores on standardized tests in below basic, basic, proficient and advanced levels.
Proficient and advanced are normally considered suitable scores, but the passing grade for receiving credit will be a lower standard, Thompson said. It will be similar to getting a D, since a D grade is passing for high school, she said.
"In Arkansas, our proficient standard is pretty rigorous and probably the equivalent of making a B in a course," Thompson said. "(Passing grade) is not the same as a proficient score."
"They have a cut-off pass point that is below proficient. That will help a lot," Lincoln High School Principal Mary Ann Spears said.
Also, whether or not aspecial education student has to pass the test or the class is determined by the pupil's individual education plan or IEP, Thompson said.
"We're not talking about a huge number of students that would need to re-take the exam," she said.
Eighty percent of Elkins High School students scored proficient or advanced on the Algebra End of Course exam last semester, so they would have all passed.
At Lincoln High School, 41 percent of its students scored proficient and 24 percent scored advanced on last year's Algebra End of Course exam. Twentyt-wo percent also scored in the basic category, which would be below a B but not failing, and only 14 percent scored below basic, according to the district's annual report.
The department also plans to change the 11th-grade literacy test to a 10th-grade exam that they will start administering for the Class of 2014. Those students will have to pass both the Algebra I End of Course exam and the new literacy exam.
Education administrators have mixed feelings about whether or not the new high stakes testing will prove beneficial.
Fayetteville Superintendent Vicki Thomas said there are pluses and minuses to high-stakes tests. They can prompt students to do better, but it can also be stressful for them, she said.
In Texas, where Thomas worked before coming to Fayetteville in July, they had high-stakes tests for third-, fifth-, eighth- and 10th-grade students. Those who failed could be held back.
"It put a lot of stress on the children," she said.
Barrett said she is reserving judgment on the approach for the time being.
Spears said she has mixed opinions about the changes. It will be interesting to see what effect it will have on graduation rates.
"If there are a lot of kids that don't make it, I wonder if the state department will hold us to that," she said.
"It's a mixed bag," Elkins Superintendent Mike Harris said. "You occasionally have a child that's not a good tester. ...When you start testing them over a whole year's material, they don't do as well."
On the other hand, Harris said, schools have longbeen held accountable for a student's performance, and the change shifts some of the burden on the student to study hard and perform well.
As part of the change, Ramay ninth-grade students who take the test will not have their class credit for Algebra I awarded until the summer, when exam results are released, Saferite said.
At Woodland Junior High, Lawson said they are offering a special after school class next semester for students who fail Algebra I the first semester. The after school class will cover material from the
News, Pages 1, 3 on 09/27/2009