Fail basic skills test, get certificate

High school students who fail the basic skills test would get nothing but a certificate of completion if a Utah senator has his way.

Right now, teens attempting the Utah Basic Skills Competency Test at least three times still can get a diploma — one that states the student didn't pass the exam.

But draft legislation proposed by Sen. Howard Stephenson, R—Draper, would eliminate the part of the law allowing for an alternative completion diploma.

If that idea were in place now, as many as 3,700 students in the class of 2006 — roughly the number of students still failing the math test, according to a spring report from the State Office of Education — could have received certificates of completion instead of diplomas. Just under 1,900 of those students have disabilities; 1,185 are listed as still learning English. Some students may appear in more than one category.

The legislative Education Interim Committee is scheduled today to discuss the proposal, which Stephenson said aims to restore the Legislature's intent.

"It wasn't the intent to give a diploma to a student that doesn't pass the test," Stephenson said Tuesday. The alternative diploma "wasn't intended to be a full diploma," he added.

The basic skills test is part of the 2000 law creating the Utah Performance Assessment System for Students (U-PASS), a series of testing, reporting and accountability requirements holding schools accountable for student achievement.

Students first take the exam in their sophomore year. They have up to five chances to pass its three sections in reading, writing and math.

The law now says students can receive an alternative completion diploma under rules adopted by the state school board. The board decided years ago that if students attempted the exam three times, they can be eligible for an alternative completion diploma.

But the word "alternative" created problems last fall when college and public school leaders feared it could block students from receiving federal financial aid for college. The state school board decided diplomas simply would state whether the student passed the basic skills test — the idea being that the alternative completion diploma is still a diploma, anyway.

Stephenson, however, has repeatedly said that practice is contrary to the intent of the U-PASS law he sponsored.

"The state school board has said, based on their interpretation of current language, that they have the authority to give a diploma . . . to those who didn't pass the test, and many of the (legislative) committee members have said they feel strongly that is inappropriate," Stephenson said.