Critics say revamped scoring is unfair, but education officials have no plans to revert to old method
A file photo of a high school graduation in 2009.
More high school students in New Jersey are passing the state’s alternate graduation exam since the Christie administration revamped the scoring method, but many seniors are still in danger of not receiving a diploma.
The state Department of Education today released preliminary results showing that thousands of students who had previously failed the High School Proficiency Assessment have since passed further tests, demonstrating they had the basic skills needed to receive a high school diploma.
On their third try, 1,864 students, or 16.3 percent, passed the High School Proficiency Assessment for mathematics, administered in March. In the language arts section of the HSPA, 1,531 students, or 29.9 percent, passed the test on their third try.
Students who fail the HSPA three times may take the Alternative High School Assessment to earn a diploma. In January, about 10 percent of the students who took the language arts part of the AHSA passed it, and about 34 percent of the students passed the mathematics portion.
• N.J.'s alternative test to pass high school is subject of intensive study
• Fewer students relying on alternative test to graduate high school
"The number will continue to increase with each administration of the test," said Alan Guenther, state board of education spokesman. "We’re not going back to the old system where 96 percent will pass."
Students had previously taken a test called the Special Review Assessment, which more than 96 percent of students passed. One of the changes the state made to the test was hiring an outside vendor to score it, rather than allowing schools to continue grading their own tests.
"We are doing everything we can to help these students pass the AHSA examination," deputy education commissioner Willa Spicer said today in a news release. The state will offer special remediation programs over the summer, and students who have other evidence of literacy or math proficiency will be able to appeal to the Department of Education.
Critics, however, said the revamped scoring of the test is unfair.
"The rescoring of the test confirms that the department implemented a new, high-stakes assessment without preparing the students and teachers for it," said Stan Karp, director of the Education Law Center’s Secondary Reform Project. "It is the department that has failed this test."
But Department of Education officials said they have no plans to revert to the old method of scoring the test.
"We must preserve the integrity of a New Jersey diploma," Spicer said yesterday. "Students must show that they have mastered basic skills before they graduate."
Derrell Bradford, executive director of the pro-voucher group Excellent Education for Everyone, said the high school test scores point to a broader problem in many schools.
"Kids are getting to be seniors, and they don’t know what they need to know," Bradford said.