Posted 12:49 am Friday, October 31, 2008
Fruitvale ISD Board May Allow Students Who Failed TAKS To Walk At Graduation
By MALENA OGLES
Staff Writer
Staff Writer
FRUITVALE -- To walk or not to walk for graduation is the question for the Fruitvale Independent School District school board.
Board members are weighing the option of allowing seniors who have not passed the state-mandated Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) test, but who have completed state and local credit hour requirements to walk across the stage with their graduating classmates.
If the policy passes, the class of 2009 will be the first group of students affected by the change.
Fruitvale ISD Superintendent Bill Boyd said that the district he previously worked for had a similar policy in place, adding that some students that were allowed to walk under the policy then returned to school and passed their TAKS tests.
"We had one kiddo who didn't pass the exit test. We brought him in, worked with him and, at the next test, he passed," he said.
The students who do not pass the TAKS test would receive a different document from their graduation certificate during the ceremony.
"This is only for students not passing exit-level TAKS tests in one or more areas, not for somebody who failed government or English," he said.
The district's current policy requires students to meet all criteria, including TAKS, before a senior can participate in the graduation ceremony.
Supporters of the policy change believe allowing students to walk during graduation will encourage them to retake their TAKS test to receive a high school diploma.
"If you shun those kids and don't let them take part in the ceremony they will feel like you're pushing them away," Boyd said. "I've seen it happen myself."
He said that students who do not pass the required TAKS test are eligible to take a computer-based remediation course over the summer to prepare to take the test again.
"We want to do everything we can to give these kids every chance we can so that they can be successful, " he said.
Boyd said some school board members expressed concern that enacting a walk policy would unfair to students who have completed all of the high school graduation requirements.
Fruitvale High School has an enrollment of about 110 students, and all students passed last year.
Boyd said the real controversy of not having a walk policy happens in April after students have received their class rings and have begun sending out invitations.
"By not having a walk policy, it will be pretty high emotion from those who find out they did not pass the TAKS and are find out they are not going to walk," Boyd said.
