DISTRICT'S EXIT EXAM FAILURES SHUT OUT.Byline: KAREN MAESHIRO Staff Writer ROSAMOND -- When 150 seniors of Rosamond High School's Class of 2006 walk across the stage during graduation Thursday, three of their classmates Classmates can refer to either:
Unlike other high school districts in the Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley , Southern Kern Kern, river, 155 mi (249 km) long, rising in the S Sierra Nevada Mts., E Calif., and flowing south, then southwest to a reservoir in the extreme southern part of the San Joaquin valley. The river has Isabella Dam as its chief facility. Unified School District A unified school district is a school district which includes both primary school (kindergarten through middle school or junior high) and high school (grades 9-12). In Illinois, these districts are called unit school districts. is not allowing students who have not passed the state's controversial high school exit exam to participate in graduation ceremonies. ``They didn't graduate. They didn't meet all the requirements that were required of them by the state,'' trustee Olaf Landsgaard said. ``The fact is a Rosamond High School diploma A high school diploma is a diploma awarded for the completion of high school. In the United States and Canada, it is considered the minimum education required for government jobs and higher education. An equivalent is the GED. means something, especially to the 160-some-odd kids who took the trouble to pass the test.'' One of the three students is a twin, whose sister passed the test and is graduating. Parents of the non-passing students have put off cancelling graduation celebrations in the hope of changing district officials' minds but that was not likely. Some seniors started a petition drive in support of letting the students march, entitled en·ti·tle tr.v. en·ti·tled, en·ti·tling, en·ti·tles 1. To give a name or title to. 2. To furnish with a right or claim to something: , ``No Senior Left Behind.'' ``This is a stand from the Class of 2006 to support our fellow classmates,'' the petition stated. Parents Sandra Prim and Guadalupe Chavez said the district's decision is unjust and unfair to their daughters, who have both met all other graduation requirements except for passing the exit exam. Prim said she was notified May 26 that her daughter would not be allowed to march with her class. ``The message you send to the kids is that they failed, the four years they gave accomplished nothing,'' Prim said. ``This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing for the kids. They don't realize the impact on the kids. They are devastated dev·as·tate tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. . (My daughter is) being penalized pe·nal·ize tr.v. pe·nal·ized, pe·nal·iz·ing, pe·nal·iz·es 1. To subject to a penalty, especially for infringement of a law or official regulation. See Synonyms at punish. 2. . She's earned the right to walk.'' Chavez said her daughter missed passing the exit exam by eight points. ``We are devastated. We are very upset,'' Chavez said. ``We were planning a party. We bought a graduation ring, which was $600, a cap and gown. They asked us to buy these at the beginning of the school year. This all came late in the year. We didn't know.'' Superintendent Rod Van Norman said the district is following policy in not allowing the students to march. ``The board policies, which were set prior, say that students must meet all requirements of the state and the requirements include the exit exam, proficiency exams, all the course requirements, and if one of those have not been met, you haven't graduated and you won't get a diploma. Ceremonies and activities are included in that,'' Van Norman said. Van Norman sympathized with the students. ``It's devastating dev·as·tate tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. to people, how students can pass all through course curriculum, go through remedial training, extra classes for preparing to take this test, and get in there and panic. That's basically what I believe happens to the majority of these kids: they panic,'' Van Norman said. ``The validity of test-taking is a challenge for some people.'' Other high school districts in the area, including Antelope Valley Union High School District The Antelope Valley Union High School District (A.V.U.H.S.D.) is located in the Antelope Valley area of California, in northern Los Angeles County. The district includes eight public high schools, one trade school, and two continuation high schools in the cities of Palmdale and Mojave Unified School District, have allowed or are allowing students who didn't pass the exit exam to participate in graduation ceremonies. Whether those students get diplomas depends on court challenges to the state exam. The Class of 2006 was the first to be required to pass the exit exam to earn a diploma. Nearly 42,000 students statewide have not passed the test. An Alameda Alameda (ăləmē`də, –mā`də), city (1990 pop. 76,459), Alameda co., W central Calif., on an island just off the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay; settled 1850, inc. as a city 1884. County Superior Court judge May 12 halted the exit exam as a graduation requirement, but the state appealed that decision to the California Supreme Court, which 12 days later reinstated the exam. The state's high court ordered a state appeals court to hold a hearing on the issue. karen.maeshiro(at)dailynews.com (661) 267-5744 |
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