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Devastation, jubilation
Emotional day for those
awaiting MCAS scores
By DINA GERDEMAN
The Patriot Ledger
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Ashley Shea walked into the principal’s office yesterday, she
took one look at the somber faces in the room and knew instantly
that she had failed the MCAS test again.
This time the consequences of failing the exam are bigger than
the previous three times she flunked: Shea will not receive a
high school diploma along with her classmates at Southeastern
Regional Vocational High School in June.
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“I went in with high hopes.
The principal said I got a 218, and everything he said after
that is a blur. I just started crying. My math teacher was
crying, too.”
Ashley Shea |
Shea, who felt confident about her performance on the retest
in December, was devastated to hear that a passing score remained
out of her reach yet again, this time by 2 points.
“I went in with high hopes. The principal said I got a 218,
and everything he said after that is a blur. I just started crying,”
Shea, 17, said. “My math teacher was crying, too.”
School officials throughout the state broke the news - good
and bad - yesterday to the 10,500 high school seniors who took
the MCAS retest in December. For the one in six seniors who previously
failed the exam, that December test was their fourth shot at passing
- and their last chance to receive high school diplomas in June.
Although another retest will be offered in May, the results of
that test will not be ready in time for graduation ceremonies.
School officials yesterday were consoling many students like
Shea who didn’t make it, and they were also slapping the backs
of the many seniors who got high enough scores to earn diplomas.
The state Department of Education released individual scores to
schools this week and will release school and district results
next week.
Shea was one of five high school seniors The Patriot Ledger
featured earlier this week in a series of stories about students
struggling with the MCAS exam. Three of the five found out yesterday
that they passed: Jennifer Mueller, a regular education student
at Whitman-Hanson Regional High School who had had trouble with
the math section; Muna Bittar, a recent immigrant from Argentina
and a senior at Holbrook High School who had failed both the math
and English sections; and Joe Cao, an immigrant from China and
a senior at Quincy High School who had struggled with the English
portion of the exam.
The only student The Ledger featured who was still uncertain
about his score yesterday was Jonathan Galina, a special-needs
student at Randolph High School.
Those who found out they passed were celebrating last night,
relieved that the MCAS will not interfere with their college and
career plans.
“It was a big relief,’’ Cao, 18, said.
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Ana Peach, who teaches English as a second language at Holbrook
High, said she had felt anxious all morning yesterday, waiting
to find out if Bittar had beaten the exam. Then suddenly Bittar
appeared in the doorway of her classroom and screamed, “I passed!”
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“I was just so happy. Passing
the MCAS means graduation. It means college. It means everything
to me.”
Muna Bittar |
“We both started jumping up and down and screaming. She had tears,
I had tears, and then the whole class started cheering,’’ Peach
said.
“I was just so happy,’’ Bittar said. “Passing the MCAS means
graduation. It means college. It means everything to me.”
Mueller’s mother, Laura Hollis, got word about the MCAS results
in a phone call from the superintendent’s office Tuesday night.
“I didn’t know if I should sit or stand,’’ she said. “I was
holding on to the kitchen counter, waiting. When they said she
passed, I just screamed.” Mueller was floored when her mom shared
the news.
“I was wicked excited,’’ said Mueller, whose math score jumped
by 12 points over the previous exam. “I’m just so happy I can
walk and get my diploma.”
While students who passed felt doors opening for them yesterday,
the ones who failed couldn’t help but wonder how this one test
will affect their future. The Class of 2003 is the first being
required to pass both the English and math portions of the MCAS
exam to graduate.
Shea, still trying to digest the bad news, may push back plans
of attending the New England Institute of Technology in Rhode
Island until next year. The school requires applicants to have
high school diplomas.
Although Shea and other seniors who did not pass the December
test have the option of taking a different test for an equivalency
diploma, Shea is shying away from that idea. Instead, she is even
more determined to conquer the MCAS test in May.
“The (equivalency diploma) is my last resort,’’ Shea said. “It
would feel like I put in 13 years of hard work to get let down.
I’d feel like a failure if I couldn’t pass the MCAS and get a
regular high school diploma.”
Dina Gerdeman may be reached at dgerdeman@ledger.com.
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