one reason government schools in arizona are f*cked up! It's the government rulers who ordered them to operate like this.

http://www.azcentral.com/families/education/articles/0503failingaims0504.html

First AIMS casualties Test results forcing Class of 2006 to leave some behind

Anne Ryman The Arizona Republic May. 4, 2006 12:00 AM

The heartbreak is starting for high school seniors who must pass the state's exit exam to graduate this spring.

Seniors are starting to get the results of two of the spring AIMS tests, and for some the news is grim: Unless they collect enough bonus points through good grades and other factors, they won't receive a diploma this month and may not be able to walk in graduation ceremonies.

The Arizona Department of Education estimates as many as 5,000 seniors who earn enough credits to graduate will not get a diploma because of AIMS. It's not clear how many students will be rescued by their grades.

Karla Buelna's eyes well with tears when she talks about AIMS. The 18-year-old student at Westwood High School in Mesa failed the writing test of Arizona's Instrument to Measure Standards and is likely ineligible for bonus points.

Buelna already ordered a cap and gown, and her mother bought balloons and napkins for a graduation party. She won't be allowed to walk at Westwood's commencement.

"I went to a lot of tutoring and did a lot of preparation," she said as she sat inside a Westwood High classroom recently. "I had a lot of hope that I would pass it."

The Class of 2006 is the first in state history that must pass all three parts of the AIMS test to graduate. Failure rates are expected to be higher in school districts with large numbers of students who are still learning English.

Arizona students are being notified of the results of their AIMS reading and writing tests.

The math scores won't be available until mid-May, just days before graduation ceremonies.

Two legal-advocacy groups recently filed a lawsuit that seeks to overturn AIMS as a graduation requirement, claiming that inadequate school funding fails to prepare students for the exam. The suit has not yet been heard in court.

Bonus points

The only relief available for seniors who fail AIMS is a good set of grades.

Last summer, concerned that so many students kept failing the test, the Arizona Legislature passed a law that allows seniors to earn bonus points toward their AIMS scores if they make A's, B's or C's in core classes.

How this will play out is unknown. One estimate, based on a sampling of students in one district, found that using bonus points could raise the AIMS passage rate to 95 percent from 90 percent of seniors.

School counselors now are crunching numbers to see which students have a shot at getting enough bonus points to pass AIMS reading or writing and then notifying them.

Students who are borderline won't know until their final semester grades are in.

Until AIMS math results are available on May 17, schools won't know for sure how many students will pass.

Heather Merrifield, a classmate of Buelna at Westwood High School, found out Wednesday that she is on track to get enough bonus points in her classes to pass AIMS writing.

Merrifield, 18, wants to be a teacher and said it will look better on her transcript if she has a high school diploma than one earned through a general educational development test.

Buelna said she is likely ineligible for bonus points because she missed taking AIMS in the fall. One of the requirements to earn bonus points is that students must take AIMS each time it is offered after August 2005. They also must attend tutoring sessions.

Students who skipped tutoring or missed an AIMS test can appeal to their district's school board.

Some districts such as Mesa Public Schools are leaving the decision up to the principal. However, state policy says exceptions can be granted only if "extreme circumstances" made the student miss the test.

Walking the line

Buelna skipped the fall test because she planned to graduate in December, before AIMS was required for graduation. When her fall schedule proved too exhausting, she dropped history and government classes, which pushed her graduation date back to May and required her to pass AIMS. She passed reading, failed writing and awaits her math score.

Like many other districts, Mesa won't allow students who fail AIMS to walk at graduation ceremonies.

Deer Valley and Paradise Valley allow such students to walk provided they meet other graduation requirements, but they won't get diplomas.

Buelna has looked forward to graduation since she was a little girl. She remembers sitting in the stands watching her cousins in their caps and gowns, a memory that brings tears to her eyes.

If she is unable to walk at graduation, she plans to take the AIMS test again when it's offered in July.

"What counts is, I'm not going to give up," she said. "I'm going to keep trying."

Reporter Josh Kelley contributed to this article.


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