Students get five chances to pass before their graduation date, starting in the fall of their sophomore year. Here's a kid who has done everything asked of him, but he can't get a damn diploma. I don't blame one individual, but I do blame the system as a whole. Legislators, as they have done in the past, continue to propose a variety of measures. One bill, while not likely to pass, even proposes to do away with the test.
Most people believe the test is one important way to measure how kids are doing.
In Lubbers' Senate district, Indianapolis Public Schools reported that only 16 percent of sixth-graders passed the test. An appeals process is in place for students who don't pass, a path Croghan tried unsuccessfully. State Rep. Duane Cheney, D-Portage, agrees that standardized tests are important. But as vice chairman of the House Education Committee, he worries about a policy that can scar a child. Parents such as the Croghans are forced to live with the results.