Easily more than 1,500 Wasatch Front area high school seniors received a lump of coal this holiday season: word they failed the skills test required for high school graduation, some for the fourth time.

School districts including Alpine, Jordan, Granite, Salt Lake and Tooele notified students right before or during the holiday break that they would have to take the test yet again. Davis School District sent letters to students this past week.

It's not that school bosses liked the idea of a holiday bah-humbug. They say they just happened to receive October results of Utah Basic Skills Competency Test right before the winter break.

And considering students have to turn around and take the test one last time Jan. 31, many felt they needed every second possible to brush up.

"I just think of those kids that are hanging on," said Tim McConnell, who oversees assessment in Park City School District. "With a two-month (test results) turn-around, we are going to have kids finding out in April that they won't get regular high school diplomas."

The Utah Basic Skills Competency Test, which measures math, reading and writing skills, is required of every Utah student from the Class of 2006 on. Those who pass it can receive a full high school diploma. Those who try it three times can get a different sort of diploma — state education and legislative officials are still trying to pick out names for them — but a diploma nonetheless. Those who do neither could be in line for a certificate of completion.

No one knows what different diplomas will mean in the real world. Utah's higher education commissioner has said they won't affect college entrance, but now, the state is working to make sure the lesser diploma, so to speak, won't narrow access to federal college aid. Those looking to join the military probably won't be affected, a Utah National Guard spokesman has reported. But it's uncertain whether Utah businesses will hang hiring practices on the test.

Salt Lake City School District officials note both diplomas are considered valid. And in that sense, 88 percent of its seniors are on track for high school graduation, the district reports. That number could be as high as 92 percent, controlling for students excused by their school due to severe disabilities or those coming from states where they may have passed a comparable exam.

Still, between 23 percent and 27 percent of seniors still have to pass the basic skills test in that district. That's between 336 and 394 students.

"With each administration, students have persisted, and a higher number have earned the regular diploma," associate superintendent Charles Hausman said. "I'm proud of them for doing that."