Leaving in place symbolic promotion and graduation requirements

In a largely symbolic vote, the Wake County school board is expected to approve today leaving in place the now-defunct state policy that was meant to curb social promotion.

As noted in today's article, interim Superintendent Donna Hargens is asking the board to leave on the books the requirements that students pass state exams to be promoted and to graduate from high school. It won't have a practical change because kids will still largely be promoted even if they fail by appealing to the principal through a waiver process.

"We started the 10-11 school year with parents and students expecting that they'd be held accountable for being proficient," Hargens told school board members last month. "That's what's in their heads. That's what teachers have told them. That's what principals have told them."

The state used to require third-, fifth- and eighth-graders to pass the EOG exams to be promoted. The state also used to require that high school students pass five EOG exams to graduate.

But state officials found that most students were still being promoted even when they failed and that the waiver process was time consuming. The General Assembly had made sure that principals had the final say on promotion decisions.

Even though the state Board of Education dropped the issue as a state requirement, individual districts were allowed to keep them.

It's split among Wake's principals with Hargens saying half want to drop the old state policy to make it simpler for students and parents.

But Hargens and her senior staff are backing the principals who say students should be held accountable for passing the tests.

"Students might take the tests less seriously," Hargens said. "They might think it's not important because it's not required."

For those who think leaving the requirements in place means Wake will crack down on kids, don't look for it. Hargens specifically told board members that "individual students wouldn't be harmed because we have the waiver process."

The staff recommendation is expected to pass as both GOP and Democratic school board members seemed fine with the proposal.

"We can feel better about ourselves knowing that we have a higher standard," said school board chairman Ron Margiotta.

UPDATE

Board member Deborah Prickett was the lone dissenter, saying they should match state policy. She pointed to the same reason used by the state Board of Education how the guidelines were time consuming and didn't help students.