• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

July AIMS Test Scheduled

Posted on: Wednesday, 30 November 2005, 09:00 CST

By Daniel Scarpinato, ARIZONA DAILY STAR

It's for students taking summer remediation

Don't even try to get away from it.

If you're a high school senior set to graduate this May, passing the high-stakes AIMS test is, for now, a must to receive a diploma in Arizona. If you don't pass the exam by graduation day, be assured: The test will haunt you until you do make the mark.

Already, the state Department of Education is bracing for what is to be done with students who don't pass once the end of the school year has come and gone. The department announced Wednesday that a summer AIMS test, strictly for leftover segments of the class of 2006, will be administered in July, likely in Phoenix, Tucson, Flagstaff and Yuma, spokeswoman Amy Rezzonico said.

"This is so that students who take summer remediation can take the test right after that and get results in time to affect whatever plans they have for the fall," said Tom Horne, state superintendent of public instruction.

Otherwise, graduates would have to wait until October to take the test again.

The AIMS test assesses students in three areas: math, reading and writing. This is the first year it is required to graduate.

In Tucson Unified School District, the area's largest district, 67 percent of the district's 3,488 potential May graduates have passed all three sections of the AIMS test. Another 15 percent of TUSD students are expected to pass with the help of an augmentation formula passed by the Legislature that factors in classroom grades.

Those numbers likely will change when results from last month's AIMS test are tallied; students will have another chance to take the test this spring.

TUSD's plan is to exclude those who don't pass from walking and moving their tassels on graduation night, said Ross Sheard, principal supervisor for the district. The Sunnyside Unified School District has a similar policy.

But TUSD's policy is being revisited, Sheard said, after school board member Judy Burns raised the issue at Tuesday's board meeting. Burns said students who don't pass AIMS but fulfill all other requirements should be allowed to walk and possibly receive a certificate of completion. A final recommendation will be presented to the board next month, Sheard said.

By the numbers

* Summer AIMS test will help seniors in need.

67 % Of Tucson largest school district's 3,488 potential May 2006 graduates have passed all three sections of the AIMS test.

15 % Of Tucson Unified School District students are expected to pass with the help of an augmentation formula passed by the Legislature that factors in classroom grades.

* Contact reporter Daniel Scarpinato at 573-4195 or at dscarpinato@azstarnet.com.

Source: Arizona Daily Star

More News in this Category