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Wednesday, September 21, 2005

Evacuee students may face TAKS

By Dan Genz Tribune-Herald staff writer

Wednesday, September 21, 2005

Most children from New Orleans and other storm-ravaged communities who have settled into Waco-area public schools will have to take the state's high-stakes exams this school year if they stay through May.

The Texas Education Agency told schools last week that students from the Gulf Coast must take the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills, ending speculation that those students might receive waivers and skip the controversial, increasingly difficult tests.

The decision means students from Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama are quickly entering the same tutoring programs as local classmates who need extra attention in reading, math and science to prepare for the exams in February and April.

“We're going to go to great lengths to prepare them as best as possible,” said Jack Henderson, director of student management for the Waco Independent School District, where 60 evacuee students have enrolled.

Hillsboro ISD Superintendent Jerry Maze said most children among storm evacuees across the state will need extra help to prepare for the exams, even though Louisiana has an established state testing program.

“No matter what they're used to, it's going to be different and it's going to be difficult,” said Maze, whose Hill County district is now home to seven students uprooted by Hurricane Katrina.

The decision could also impact schools' state and federal ratings. All three Waco ISD high schools must post higher passing rates on the test this school year to avoid No Child Left Behind sanctions next fall. Each has taken in at least two students.

Waco High School principal Donald Garrett said “it's fair” for the TEA to require new arrivals to demonstrate the same achievement expected of local students, though under the circumstances it could prove challenging.

“The advanced kids may not have any trouble at all, but I suspect it could be tough for some of the students” if their families stay in Waco long, he said.

“Many of the children I've talked to have said, ‘We're going to get back to Louisiana and graduate there,'” Garrett said.

The TEA is still working out some details for the testing, especially as it relates to graduation requirements, TEA spokeswoman Suzanne Marchman said.

Evacuees who want a Texas diploma this school year will have to pass the exit exams students typically take in 11th grade. Students who want a Louisiana diploma will have to have passed that state's exit exams, given in 10th grade, Marchman said.

Craig Thompson Jr., 17, from New Orleans passed the Louisiana test on his first try back at Abramson Senior High School. He said more tests are about the last thing he wants to tackle after Hurricane Katrina.

“We spent a whole year preparing for (the exit test) and I don't want to have to go through that again,” he said.

“I just want to support my family,” said Thompson, who is living with his aunt in Waco, attending Waco High School and searching for an after-school job to help support his mother and sisters in Atlanta.

Unlike seniors, students in grades third through 11th will be required to take TAKS, Marchman said. Promotion requirements, such as that mandating that third-graders pass the reading test, will be in effect for children who plan to stay in Texas for more than a year.

dgenz@wacotrib.com

757-5743
http://www.wacotrib.com/news/content/news/stories/2005/09/21/20050921wactaks.html

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