Some 50 seniors who flunked the test can attend graduation, retake the test and swap a certificate of completion for a diploma if they finally pass.
By JEFFREY S. SOLOCHEK
Published May 29, 2003
BROOKSVILLE - About 50 Hernando County high school seniors failed the state's graduation test this year. But anyone attending one of the graduations this week will not know who they are.
"Students who have a 2.0 (grade point average) and have achieved 24 credits, but have not passed the FCAT, can participate in graduation," said Betty Harper, the assistant principal who was in charge of Central High School's ceremony Wednesday night. "They will receive a certificate of completion until they pass the FCAT."
They won't be singled out as such, either. No asterisk in the program. No segregated section among the student seats.
"We just read their names," said Jane Padgett, Hernando High School assistant principal. "The only thing (special) for any student is if they've had honors. But nobody is going to know if they have a certificate of completion."
In some counties, including Pasco, passing the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (and the High School Competency Test in previous years) has been a sticking point. School boards have asserted in no uncertain terms that success on the test is part and parcel of being a graduate, and no one will cross the stage without that success complementing the other requirements.
But not here.
Hernando board members have not talked about creating a "no pass, no walk" policy since 1999, when the idea washed out for a lack of support. And there's no momentum for the conversation now.
It's more likely that a senior would be removed from graduation for wearing shorts or floating a beach ball.
"I don't think not letting people walk across the stage is going to increase the number of people passing FCAT," said Robert Wiggins, arguably the School Board's most ardent supporter of the state achievement program. "They spent four years. If they did all the work, we ought to at least give them their 10 seconds of glory."
Board Chairman John Druzbick acknowledged the issue is problematic, at least theoretically. Passing the test is a state graduation requirement, and allowing students to wear the cap and gown as graduates could be somewhat misleading, he said.
But, then, even the state has changed its standard for passing the FCAT, he noted. A last-minute memo gave instructions that allowed school officials to find that as many as eight students they thought had failed had not.
"So it's kind of tough to say yes or no when the state is making exemptions to its own rule," Druzbick said, adding that he had not heard from one angry parent this year - a first during his 10 years on the board.
The numbers of students not passing the state graduation test has not wavered much over time. In 1999, 27 students received certificates of completion because they had not succeeded on the HSCT.
This year, about 50 students failed the more difficult FCAT.
The seniors will have another chance to pass the test and switch the certificate to a diploma after commencement. The district is offering a four-day remedial program June 16-19, and a retest on June 24-25.
- Jeffrey S. Solochek covers education and politics in Hernando County. He can be reached at 754-6115 or solochek@sptimes.com
