N.J. may raise bar for earning high school diploma

Published in the Asbury Park Press 05/19/05

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MOUNT LAUREL - New Jersey students who do not pass a standardized test would have a tougher time getting high school diplomas, but would have more chances to take the exam, under a plan unveiled Wednesday by the state Education Department.

Commissioner William L. Librera is a longtime critic of the process known as the Special Review Assessment, which allows students to graduate without passing the High School Proficiency Assessment. Now, he wants to phase out that path to graduation.

"We think the SRA hurts the very kids it's designed to help," Librera said in a conference call with reporters Wednesday. "It erodes the meaning and integrity of the high school diploma."

The special process was introduced in the 1980s, mostly for special-education students. But it's become more widely used. Nearly 20 percent of New Jersey high school students follow the alternate path to graduation - including about half in 31 Abbott districts - poor, mostly urban school districts - that get extra attention and money from the state.

"We just can't believe that one in five of our kids can't pass this test," Librera said. The exam measures students' skills in reading and math.

Students now take the HSPA for the first time in the spring of their junior year and can get two more cracks at it as seniors. In his new plan, Librera would have students take the test in the fall of their junior year so they could have four chances to pass the test over two years. They also would take a practice test as sophomores.

"It makes a lot of sense," said Long Branch Superintendent Joseph Ferraina of the extra test-takings. "That's a very good move."

Under the alternate process, students who fail the big HSPA exam as juniors can get special instruction and earn their diplomas by passing a series of more narrowly focused exams.

Change would phase in

Librera's proposal would eliminate that method for students who fail the literacy tests, starting with those entering ninth grade in September. The alternate route for math would be phased out starting with students who will enter seventh grade in the fall. In the meantime, the Education Department is trying to overhaul the math curriculum so that students will have a background in algebra before they get to high school.

Ferraina wouldn't offer an opinion on the commissioner's plan to end the Special Review Assessment. Information on the percentage of students who graduate via the alternate route in Long Branch and Asbury Park - both Abbott districts - was not available from the state Department of Education.

"If that's what they do, we'll have to work with it," Ferraina said. "Our job is to teach children."

The Asbury Park school district's director of curriculum, Kathy McDavid, and Board of Education President Robert DiSanto declined to comment on Librera's proposal until they can get additional information.

Raymond Gonzalez, director of assessment, planning and evaluation in the Paterson public schools said that extra chances on the HSPT would help, but that the graduation rate at the school would likely fall if Librera's plan is put into place.

Librera's proposal requires approval of the state Board of Education. He said that if the board does not adopt it by early August, he would drop plans to make changes during the 2005-06 school year.

He said one change likely to be made is reworking the appeals process. Under his plan, students who fail the HSPA test could still get high school diplomas only if they attend school at least 90 percent of the time as juniors and seniors and if their grades are as good as those of students who pass the tests. That standard might be too high, Librera said.

Staff writers Kathy Matheson and Nancy Shields contributed to this story.