Students such as Taylorsville junior Brittany Lamoreaux, who took the Utah Basic Skills Competency Test (UBSCT) for the second time Wednesday, hope legislators implement the changes, which would give students more opportunities to graduate without passing the UBSCT. Now, all Utah students have to pass the UBSCT to earn diplomas.
The proposed bill legislators discussed Wednesday would largely exempt special education students from having to pass the UBSCT and replace alternative diplomas with certificates of completion meaning students would not earn diplomas if they didn't pass the test. The proposed bill would also give some regular education students the opportunity to earn diplomas without passing the test through an appeals process, and give students who couldn't pass the exam in high school unlimited opportunities to take the UBSCT after high school.
The ideas still have a long way to go before becoming law, but members of the Education Interim Committee expressed support for the changes.
Last school year, 26 percent of Utah high school seniors didn't pass the UBSCT. Nearly 12 percent of the state's students are in special ed, said Judy Park, associate state superintendent.
"I think it goes a long way toward addressing the struggles these students face," said Rep. Kory Holdaway, R-Taylorsville, a special education teacher.
Sen. Patricia Jones, D-Salt Lake City, said her goal in crafting the bill was to preserve high standards while being fair to everyone.
"There are a few people out there, who through no fault of their own or who through no lack of effort, cannot pass this test," Jones said.
Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, praised the proposal for eliminating alternative diplomas, which are given to students who meet all graduation requirements except passing the test. Those diplomas indicate that students did not pass the test. If the proposed bill becomes law, students who don't pass the test would get certificates of completion instead, which would show only that they attended high school but not which requirements they did or did not meet, Park said.
Stephenson and Holdaway, however, expressed concerns about the appeal process. In that process, some students who meet all graduation requirements except passing the UBSCT could earn diplomas by submitting portfolios of their high school work.
"How can we make sure this isn't just a way of [giving] everyone a diploma?" Stephenson asked
State Superintendent Patti Harrington said few students would likely appeal because of the many requirements to do so.
Several Taylorsville students said Wednesday they'd support an appeals process.
Others, such as Taylorsville parent Kathy Ashland, said she's in favor of exempting special education students, but she doesn't think appeals should be offered to other students, who need to perform at a certain level to be successful in college and the real world.
* Exempt special education students with individualized education programs (IEP) from having to pass the UBSCT to get a diploma. The IEP would have to specify which parts of the test the student must pass to get a diploma or if the student does not need to pass any parts of the test to graduate.
* Replace alternative diplomas for students who don't pass the UBSCT with certificates of completion. Alternative diplomas show that students met all requirements for graduating except passing the UBSCT. Certificates of completion would show only that a student attended high school, but not which requirements he did or did not meet toward graduation.
* Allow some regular-education students who can't earn diplomas because they can't pass the test to appeal. To appeal students must: have attempted the UBSCT at least three times; attended school at least 95 percent of the time during the year of the appeal and the year prior to the appeal, except for extenuating circumstances; participated in supplemental instruction in an attempt to pass the UBSCT. The student's school district/charter school board would appeal the student's case to the state superintendent by submitting a portfolio of the student's work and other information.
* Allow students who don't initially pass the UBSCT to take it an unlimited number of times both during and after high school during scheduled administrations.
