The state school board has lined up behind a proposal to avoid a graduation crisis for the class of 2018 by allowing students to earn diplomas regardless of their scores on state tests.
The plan backed by board members, with some limits, would create a one-year emergency exemption from the state’s new requirements that students score well on new state high school tests, in addition to passing the required classes, in order to earn a diploma.
It would let this year’s high school juniors, the first class affected by the new requirements, graduate by instead reaching some career training goals or by doing things like having strong attendance or classroom grades their senior year.
Doing a senior capstone project or working at a job or on community service can also help a student earn a diploma.
The new graduation “pathways” that avoid scores on state tests were suggested by a special panel of educators from across the state that have studied the graduation issues for the last few months.
That panel had considered letting students’ extracurricular activities, like clubs and athletic teams, count toward graduation, but dropped that proposal.
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