1,500 seniors fail skills test

In schools like West High officials have made getting students into remediation programs a mission. They offer UBSCT remediation classes both in school and after school. Plus school officials send home letters, make phone calls and even visit students' homes to get the word out on what help is available.

Salt Lake City District is among few that sorted out and analyzed data during vacation time. Alpine District, by contrast, reports a public release of the data is a ways off. The State Office of Education plans to report statewide outcomes of the October test sometime next week, spokesman Mark Peterson reports.

Some districts have numbers to share.

In Davis County, 493 seniors, or 11.6 percent of the class of 2006, have not yet passed the test, assessment director Chris Wahlquist reports. Of them, 222, or 5.2 percent of the class, also have not yet taken it at least three times — the minimum state requirement for any diploma.

Jordan District reports at 562 seniors still haven't passed the math exam, which has the biggest failure rate statewide, evaluation director Clyde Mason reports. That number includes 83 students, mainly those with severe disabilities, who have not taken it at all.

Students have to pass every section to receive the full diploma.

In Murray, 8 percent of seniors still haven't passed the math section, reports Steve Hirase, assistant superintendent over curriculum.

In Tooele, an estimated 109, or 18 percent of seniors, still need to pass one or more test sections, secondary education director Terry Linares reports.

The same goes for 18 seniors — 14 of whom have limited English proficiency or are in special education — in Park City, McConnell says.

And in Provo, 102 seniors still haven't passed math, said testing director Morgan Anderson.

But the news wasn't bad for all students.

A Salt Lake County mother reports her daughter passed the exam on the fourth try — thanks to extra help never before offered at the neighborhood school.

"It was the best Christmas present ever," she said.

Ten school districts — Salt Lake, Jordan, Logan, Provo, Murray, Box Elder, Sevier, San Juan, Weber and South Sanpete — are sharing a $100,000 state grant to determine which test-help approaches work best.