Published: June 26, 2006 06:41 am      

TAKS retest for diploma

Certificate is the prize for many in July exams

Twenty-four high school seniors from Navarro County still haven’t graduated, lacking some part of the state Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) before they can receive their diplomas. Twenty-one of those students are from Corsicana, three from Kerens.

In Texas, about 25,000 students still need to pass all or part of the exit-level exam before officially finishing high school. It is unknown how many of those students will return to retake the test when it’s offered July 11-14. A percentage of those students will simply go on with their lives, lacking the certificate.

“We’re hoping to see a number of them come in and take the test,” said DeEtta Culbertson with the Texas Education Agency.

Maria Garay, 18, of Corsicana, will return for the test. Maria passed three of the four sections of the TAKS, but hasn’t been able to get past the science portion. She wanted to go to summer school for remedial help, but her family couldn’t afford for her to be away from her job at McDonald’s that much.

“My family’s in kind of a crisis for money, so I have to work,” she said, adding that her parents are urging her to work hard to finish her education.

“They’re really helping a lot,” she said. “Sometimes, when I sit down to watch TV, they’re like ‘What are you doing? You’re supposed to be studying.’”

If she can earn enough money, Maria said she wants to go to college this fall to study art. As for this summer, her time is limited to studying and work, cutting back even on her time with friends.

“Most of the time, I study,” Garay said. “If I don’t pass, I don’t get my diploma. It’s stressful.”

Garay is not alone in struggling with the science test. Fourteen students in her class — or two thirds of the students left out of graduation — are missing the science TAKS exam. Nine need the math test, three need language arts and two need social studies.

Of the 21, only four have taken the district up on the offer of free summer school tutoring, said Nancy Phillips, director of programs and initiative for the Corsicana district.

“They can choose to come, but there’s no way we can force them to come,” Phillips said.

Numbers at summer school aren’t an indicator of how many will show up for the testing dates, Phillips pointed out.

“The last couple of years, over half of them have come right back in,” she said. “The majority will show up this July and take it. A very small number don’t do it.”

Throughout Navarro County, none of the districts allow seniors to participate in graduation ceremonies without passing the exit level TAKS. The rule is heartbreaking for students like Maria, but meant to inspire teens to work harder.

Students first take the exit-level TAKS in the spring of their junior year of high school. If they fail any part of the test — language arts, math, science or social studies — they have three more chances before graduation to retake the test and pass. After that, students have unlimited chances to retake the test.

Some students return more than once, either to retake the same test or to take different tests they still lack.

“We’ve had numerous children take it three times,” Phillips said. “A lot of times they’ll come and take one test, then they’ll prep and come back.”

Kerens, which has three students needing to take tests, is offering remediation classes over the next two weeks, from 8 a.m. to noon, Monday through Friday, except July 5 and 6, at the high school.

Last year, Kerens had one student who needed to pass the TAKS, said Vance Vaughn, superintendent.

“Last year, we had one, but other than last year and this year, we’ve never had that situation before,” Vaughn said.

In Corsicana, officials are expecting a good turnout for the test retake, with the hope that students have been studying on their own, like Maria.

“They realize they really have to do this,” Phillips said. “It’s important for them to get that diploma from Corsicana High School.”

The average annual income for a Texan without a high school diploma is $16,230, compared to $23,719 a year for those who have a diploma, according to a 2004 survey on median incomes in Texas by the U.S. Census Bureau. College graduates with a bachelor’s degree make an average of $42,361 a year.

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Janet Jacobs may be contacted via e-mail at jacobs@corsicanadailysun.com