THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 24, 1995 TAG: 9503240430
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PHILIP WALZER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
Accelerating his push for tougher standards, the state's public schools chief wants to keep all students who haven't passed the Literacy Passport Test from advancing to high school.
The test, given to middle school students, ``was built on the assumption that you had to have basic skills before you move on to high school,'' said William C. Bosher Jr., state superintendent of public instruction.
But Bosher's recommendation got a mixed reaction Thursday from the state Board of Education, which must approve the change. Members debated whether the tougher stand would help or hinder students.
``It would place a stigma if you hold that student back,'' board member Martha V. Pennino said. ``That individual might feel like a failure.''
Yet Malcolm S. McDonald was supportive: ``We have to decide whether it's going to be a barrier or a test to see how kids are doing. I, for one, would like to see a barrier.''
Bosher said he would seek advice from area school superintendents before returning to the board with a final proposal.
This is part of a broader push by Bosher to toughen academic standards. On Wednesday, he called state schools' performance lackluster and blamed it on failure to create strong standards that hold schools accountable. The state is in the process of updating its ``standards of learning.''
The Literacy Passport exam was begun in 1989 to ensure that middle school students have mastered the fundamentals. The exam, with sections on writing, reading and math, is given twice a year starting in sixth grade.
School systems now can hold back students who haven't passed the entire exam after they've fin ished middle school. Or the districts can send them on to high school as ``ungraded'' students. That means the students can take high school classes but cannot be promoted to higher grade levels until they pass the test.
They also can't participate in sports or, starting in 1996, get a high school diploma until they pass all sections.
Bosher acknowledged that the change wouldn't affect many students: Only a small fraction of high schoolers haven't passed the test. But he said the tougher rule was needed to stress the importance of the exam.
``If we keep making promises we don't keep,'' he said, ``we're sending the wrong message. If the test is supposed to measure the acquisition of skills at a certain point, let's tell them what the consequences are.''
Board member Michelle Easton liked the idea.
``It seems to me that retention would really tend to focus attention on what's important. . . . The experts have always advised not to hold them back. But I know from experience, it can be tremendously successful,'' she said, referring to her children.
But board President James P. Jones expressed reservations, saying, ``We've been hearing about the messages we're sending, but we've got to realize we're dealing with real people.''
As the discussion went on, even Easton voiced some doubts. ``It seems like an ironclad rule for this is not great,'' she said.
A colleague, Lil Tuttle, suggested a compromise: Bar entry to high school to only those students who failed all three sections.
The board did agree to Bosher's proposal to begin offering the test a third time during the year, in the summer.
Students who took it then would have to pay a fee, no more than $25. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
William C. Bosher Jr., state superintendent of public instruction
KEYWORDS: LITERACY PASSPORT VIRGINIA SCHOOLS by CNB