No more failure diplomas

Supporters of the alternative diplomas now granted to Utah high school students who fail the basic skills test three times say, among other things, that denying those students diplomas would severely hurt the state's graduation rate. That, in turn, would hurt economic development.

Perhaps, but it would be honest. And it ultimately would be more helpful to the failing student, who needs more than faux praise and a pat on the back.

Last week, members of the Education Interim Committee were expected to discuss a bill that would remove these failure diplomas and instead give a certificate that indicates the student merely completed high school. Instead, however, the committee discussed the test itself, which measures reading, writing and mathematics skills.

That discussion is worthwhile, as well. Tests can be tricky measurements of success, although no one has yet come up with a more reliable way to measure. And the question of whether severely disabled students should take them needs discussion, as well.

But what should be beyond question is that the state has no business granting diplomas to students who have not learned the basic skills taught in high school. Doing so may make graduation rates look good, but it hardly prepares the student for the real world, let alone for further education.

Six years ago, state lawmakers established the Utah Performance Assessment System, known by the acronym U-PASS, in an effort to hold schools accountable for how well they were teaching students. Beginning their sophomore year, students take tests they must pass in order to receive a full diploma. They are given up to five chances to succeed. But the law also allows the state school board to create an alternative diploma for those who fail.

So the board decided to grant diplomas that simply state whether a student passed the basic test, which some lawmakers now say was not their intent.

Accountability is an unpleasant concept, but it is necessary if students are to be motivated to succeed in order to compete in a global marketplace. Recent American College Test scores found that more than half of Utah's high school students are not ready for college-level math, and two-thirds are not ready for science.

It does little good to pretend that sub-par students are worthy of something they haven't achieved.