Published Saturday, May 24, 2008
1 point keeps student from getting diploma
The Times-Herald
Brittany Brown walked across the stage Friday night at Newnan High School's graduation ceremonies, although she knew she wouldn't be getting a diploma anytime soon.
The 18-year-old senior is among more than 100 students of Coweta's graduating high school classes who will instead receive a Certificate of Performance because she and the others failed one or more portions of the Georgia High School Graduation Test (GHSGT).
While a lot of attention has focused this week on the math and social studies fiasco with the Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT) that were administered to elementary and middle schoolers, Brown and other high schoolers have been lamenting over the GHSGTs, another requisite of federal No Child Left Behind legislation.
It's bad enough not being promoted immediately to sixth or ninth grade because of a test score, but not being able to graduate from high school?
For Brown, an A/B student, and others like her, it means losing out on the HOPE scholarship, college acceptance this fall, housing deposits and getting dropped from parents' health and automobile insurance coverages because of their looming non-student status.
The GHSGT results for Brown were even more exacerbating because, for her, it came down to one point on the science portion, and this was after her multiple attempts to pass.
High schoolers have five opportunities to take the GHSGT, the first time when they're a junior. They can continue retesting on the sections they failed when the tests are offered until they pass that section.
Brown needed a 500 on the science portion, and scored 499 in one of the five retests. She passed the other areas of high school graduation testing in English/language arts, math, social studies and the writing test.
As a first time test taker, Brittany received 488 points out of 500. The second time, 490. Third time, 499, fourth time, 498 and this last time, 497 points.
"I cried every day," she said.
Of the 107 students who received or will receive Certificates of Performance this week, 100 failed the science section of the five-part graduation test, according to information provided by the Coweta Schools public information office.
While the high school senior remains extremely frustrated, so is the rest of her family including her grandmother Gerri Krueger who appealed to Gov. Sonny Perdue, U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland and others.
Brittany's mother, Patricia Brown, has taken their appeal to the state Board of Education.
"So many things are hanging by this one single point," she said. "According to her guidance counselor at Newnan High School, there's nothing they can do. They have no authority. There's no review. Nothing. It's up to this one gentleman at the Georgia Board of Education."
After exhausting all resources -- including study sessions offered at the school, online tutoring as suggested by school counselors, private tutoring for four months at $25 a session with an advanced physics teacher and retesting at every opportunity -- Brittany Brown is left with this one last chance to get a diploma, a petition for a variance on the test score.
"I went to tutoring sessions with her. She's honestly trying to pass the stupid test. She wants to go to college. She knows the importance of education," Patricia Brown said.
The Browns said they had the option of requesting a waiver or variance, but understood that waivers are reserved for special education students so they requested a variance, but they feel it offers little hope for relief before the fall.
"Once we write a letter it goes back to the school, and the school sends it to the Central office. They review it, get the records together, and then send it on to the Georgia Board of Education where there's one gentleman who reviews all variances, which can take up to three months whether it's approved or not approved," Patricia Brown explained.
She added another parent and student, who are following this same route, have been waiting six months for a response from the state DOE.
The women also recently learned that obtaining a GED was also not an option. Patricia Brown was told since her daughter has satisfied all the credit requirements for graduation, she can only apply for a GED if she dropped out of school. The last day of school was Friday, but Brittany Brown's last day was Tuesday. She finished her last semester with all A's, thus was exempted from the finals the last few days of school.
She has 30 credits toward high school graduation, and she only required 28.
So Brittany Brown's college plans are, for now, at a complete standstill until she gets a diploma when she can't until she makes at least a 500 on that one test.
"She's disappointed," Patricia Brown said. "She wants her diploma. What good is a certificate of performance?"
The student attributes the problems with the science testing on the graduation tests to several factors and circumstances.
First, Brown transferred into Georgia from Florida schools in her sophomore year. She had about two years of science in Florida and two years in Georgia. In Florida, she started with a different science curriculum.
She explained Florida had different science requirements, mainly ninth grade students took integrated science versus the physical science course that ninth-graders in Georgia take.
"I think a big part of it is that I never took physical science," she said.
The school denied her request to take physical science when she entered Coweta's school system because it was a freshman class, she said.
"They said I can't go back, and said I had to take chemistry," she said.
Brittany ended up taking four high school science classes -- integrated science, biology, chemistry and physics in both states.
"In all my science classes through high school, I got A's," she said, but she credits the A's to her teachers in Georgia, and not the ones in Florida although she attended a charter school in Florida.
"I didn't have the best teachers in Florida, and in Newnan I had really good teachers," she said.
Secondly, the student feels there was something different with the testing or scoring this year over last year. She said it appeared more first-time takers were passing the test this year than they did when she first took it.
"Everyone I talked to this year, they said it was so easy, but it made me look like an idiot," Brittany Brown said.
Last year, first-time takers averaged about an 80 to 85 percent pass rate. This year the pass rate for the juniors is about 94 percent.
Connie Davis, Coweta School System director of testing and school improvement, said the Browns are right in their assessment that the tests are different.
She explained that Brown had apparently entered the science curriculum in Georgia during the time the state was transitioning from its Quality Core Curriculum (QCC) to its now more rigorous Georgia Performance Standard (GPS) curriculum.
During the first year of transition from QCC to GPS standards, students are tested based on QCC standards. In the second year, students are exposed to a hybrid version of both curriculums and tested likewise. The rollout and alignment between the curriculum and the testing is completed by the third year. By then, students have been completely taught under the new GPS curriculum and are, likewise, tested on it.
Brown apparently came into Coweta Schools during that hybrid, transition phase, but she should have also been given the same hybrid versions of the testing.
"The student doesn't want to take the test this year because it's a harder test based on a different curriculum than what she received," Davis said. "Whatever curriculum that they're taught is the one they are tested on. It's supposed to make it fair for them."
Finally, the teen-ager said she doesn't think she performs on tests well.
"I'm really bad at testing in the first place. I just freak out," she said.
But her mother disagrees, noting that's her daughter has made all A's this semester.
"Obviously, the kid can pass tests. I don't think they should be able to base whether a kid graduates on one test. That's just ridiculous. They need to take a look at the whole picture, and make sure that they did attend regularly, didn't skip school, didn't get in trouble and she didn't. She's a good kid, and you can't base everything in life on one test."
The GHSGT will be offered again in July, and Brittany Brown will be there to try it again because she really wants that diploma.
"I just look at it as I deserve it. I made A's and B's," she said. "I'm not going to beat myself down because of one stinking point."