Fail the test, forget the diploma

But with her eye on life after graduation, Tiara knows she needs to pass the test to succeed. Enrolled in the school's computer-technology vocational program, Tiara talks about college or perhaps computer or secretarial work. "A diploma gets you jobs," she says.

So Tiara persuaded a friend to sign up with her for an MCAS prep course at the Congregacion Leon de Juda church near her home. There, HERC matched Tiara up with Boston College sophomore Kathryn Jefferis for mentoring. At their first meeting, Tiara agreed to put aside at least 20 minutes a night for MCAS preparation, and Kathryn promised to take Tiara out for dinner and a movie if she passed.

Twelve hours after their school day began, Tiara and four other high school seniors sit around a folding table, reviewing a reading-comprehension passage as the sounds of a women's prayer group singing in Spanish float down the hall.

Tiara yawns and bites a nail as she reads the passage in her lap, stopping to get a piece of gum from her friend. She doesn't contribute to the conversation until the students start discussing a sample essay topic: Is the MCAS fair?

Tiara gives the first response: "No, it's not fair. You can have all A's, do your senior project, do everything you have to do, and it's like you're going to school for nothing."

She is equally outspoken about the test at school and at home. Each morning, she scans the newspaper for stories about MCAS legal challenges. Eight students who failed the test sued the state in September, alleging that state education officials lacked the authority to create graduation requirements and that the test is discriminatory. A federal judge declined to hear the case, but the students' lawyers may refile in state court.

In English class, Tiara dreamed out loud about hiring famed O.J. Simpson attorney Johnnie Cochran to take the case. At home, she discussed the test so much that her sister, also a student at Madison Park, asked her to stop.

"She is so worked up, it was almost all-consuming," says her English teacher, Andrea Rinella, who has taught Tiara for three years.

The city didn't make it easy for students to forget about the test. Education, civic, religious, and business leaders launched a massive outreach and tutoring campaign aimed at the lowest-performing students.

Ministers preached about the test from their pulpits. Volunteers phoned and visited students' homes. Companies offered student employees paid release time from after-school jobs. Radio stations broadcast reminders in between hip-hop songs.

"The number and kinds of agencies and government efforts to get involved is truly unprecedented," says Paul Revelle, executive director of the nonprofit Center for Education Research and Policy at MassInc. "Whether it's enough to get everyone over the bar remains to be seen."

Not every student took advantage of all the help, and a few weeks of prep courses may not have been enough for those who did. "That's like curing malnutrition with vitamins," says Pedro Antonio Noguera, a professor at Harvard's Graduate School of Education who has advised Massachusetts schools. "You need regular meals and, in this case, regular exposure to the material."

Madison Park Headmaster Charles McAfee admits such efforts can't plug all the gaps - particularly among students who don't show up at school regularly.

Many who haven't yet passed wouldn't graduate anyway due to chronic absenteeism, Mr. McAfee says. About a quarter hadn't even sat through an entire MCAS exam prior to the December retest. "We're meeting them halfway. The kids have to meet us halfway," McAfee says.

Page: 1 | 2 | 3