Students Given 3rd Chance to Pass Test

A group of seniors at Fillmore High will get one more chance to pass a proficiency exam that stands between them and graduation.

Following pleas Tuesday night from eight seniors barred from next month’s commencement, members of the Fillmore school board agreed to allow the students to take the exams one more time.

The students told board members they had been short-changed by a tough new graduation requirement enacted this year that allows seniors only two attempts to pass the state-mandated exams.

They argued that because seniors have had up to six opportunities in previous years to earn passing scores, it was unfair to limit them to two tries this year.

“The students did an outstanding job speaking before the board,” said Jane Kampbell, assistant superintendent for the Fillmore district. “They did it in a very calm, objective matter-of-fact way.”

The new policy is part of a broader push to toughen graduation standards for Fillmore seniors, including a move earlier this year to require at least a C average for a high school diploma starting with the class of 2002.

High school students are required to prove basic proficiency in reading, writing and math in order to graduate.

The eight seniors earned passing scores in reading and math, but so far have failed to prove the same proficiency in writing.

Kampbell said the board’s decision will allow the students to take the exams one last time before the school year ends.

If they pass, they will be able to join their classmates on graduation day. If not, they will be required to take a writing course in summer school, at the end of which they will again be offered the test.

“Our parting advice was to go home and study,” Kampbell said.