The state-wide standardized tests administered annually, on which Rhode Island high school pupils performed poorly last October, may soon affect students' graduation status. The Rhode Island Department of Education is planning to revise its current graduation requirements, established in 2003, to require high-school juniors to not only complete but also show proficiency on state assessment tests.
Seniors graduating in 2008 are the first to work within the 2003 requirements. If the revised requirements pass the Regents board, they will take effect for the class of 2010.
The Regents board plans on making the statewide standardized New England Common Assessment Program tests count toward one-third of the total graduation requirements, though it is possible to fail the test and still graduate. The other graduation requirements are successful course completion and a senior project, exam or portfolio.
Completing the NECAP tests currently counts for one-tenth of Rhode Island graduation requirements. Under the proposed plan, the scores would also appear on high school transcripts. They currently do not.
2007 NECAP scores were released on Feb. 27, and there were two public hearings on the proposed revisions on March 4 and March 6.
22 percent of Rhode Island's students were proficient in mathematics, compared to 28 percent for New Hampshire students. 61 percent of Ocean State juniors were proficient in reading and 33 percent were in writing, according to a Feb. 27 RIDE press release.
In the release, Gov. Donald Carcieri '65 said about the scores, "Too many of our students today do not have access to the rigorous instruction or the supports needed to meet high math standards."
The new plan was drafted on Dec. 19, but has been "in the works for four years," according to RIDE press secretary Elliot Krieger.
Rhode Island's poor NECAP test results did not influence the new plan, which preceded the release of the results, Krieger said. They may, however, do even more to encourage a vote in favor of the new requirements, said Regents Board Secretary Colleen Callahan.
"Maybe these students aren't doing as well on these tests as they could because they don't take it seriously," Callahan said, adding that increasing NECAP's relevance to students might improve scores.
"Because statewide assessment is not used for graduation decisions like they do in Massachusetts, there was an interest ... to raise the stakes," Callahan said.
Callahan, forecasted the plan would be approved in late spring, but said it was subject to change.
"There may be a lot of flaws in this particular test in relying too heavily on a test that's just given over a couple of days," she said.
2008 has already been a year of new requirements for high school seniors in Rhode Island. Starting this spring, high school seniors must complete either a senior "capstone" project, present an electronic portfolio demonstrating proficiency in various subjects or an end-of-year exam in addition to accumulating sufficient course credits, according to Krieger. It is up to each school district to decide which of these three tasks seniors must complete, she said.
The Providence Public School District currently makes its seniors complete 20 credits and create one portfolio and complete the NECAP exam, according to a representative from the guidance office at Hope High School. The portfolio has to contain up to "five pieces of proficient work," which can include projects and papers, according to the representative.
Callahan reported no complaints about the newly implemented senior projects but said there has been hesitation to embrace the policy of more heavily weighted testing.
"It's a brand new test" that is designed to match the educational standards of Rhode Island, Callahan said. "Statewide assesment is very important," she said. "We need to make sure the test is aligned with what they're teaching in schools."
If Rhode Island high school students perform as poorly on the test in the fall of 2008 as some did last fall, many may not graduate under new regulations in 2010. For now, however, current graduating seniors are already dealing with the new senior projects and portfolios. "As of this June, there may be some students who don't graduate because they haven't put their portfolio together," Callahan said.
