Tentative policy changes address final exam exemptions

After lengthy and sometimes heated debate, the Beaufort County Board of Education on Tuesday tentatively changed a policy that identifies high-school students who may be exempt from final exams.

The change exempts students in grades nine through 12 who have a 90 average in a course and no more than two absences or a 95 average and no more than four absences. The exemptions will not apply to those courses such as career and technical education or community college courses in which exams are taken as a requirement for the course.

The policy change does not require principals to exempt students from final exams but gives them the authority to do so.

If given final approval by the board, the amended policy becomes effective with the 2011-2012 school year.

The previous policy allowed high school principals to grant exemptions only to seniors with a grade average of 90 or above in a course. It did not specify attendance requirements.

A majority of parents and high school faculty surveyed by the school system agreed that exam exemptions should apply not just to seniors but to all high school students. They also agreed that attendance should be tied to that policy, according to results of polls provided to board members.

Board members and principals stressed the importance of having a consistent policy throughout the system.

“Whatever the policy is, we need to do what the policy says,” said board Chairman Robert Belcher.

The debate over the issue highlighted philosophical and generational differences among the board not usually seen in discussions of other policies and issues, board members said.

“If you talk to all nine board members, you’re going to get nine different views,” said board member Terry Williams.

Some board members said requiring students to take final exams prepared by their teachers better prepares those students for the rigors of college work. Others said an exam-exemption policy tied to attendance and grade point averages encourages students to attend school and at the same time proves mastery of the subject by those students.

“My thought is, how are we helping a child prepare for college if they never take an exam,” Belcher said. “A lot of the public is asking that question.”

Board member Cindy Winstead countered that a student who had a grade of “A” or better in the course had demonstrated mastery of the material in tests and course work administered throughout the year.

She and board members Teressa Banks and Williams stressed the benefits of a strong attendance policy tied to exam exemptions.

“You are getting kids in school,” Williams said. “If you don’t get them in school, you can’t teach them.”

Tuesday’s meeting was the second gathering of school leaders to discuss several academic policies including those that affect the Senior Project, requirements for promotion and graduation and grades given to students throughout the school year.

Board members reviewed these academic policies not only in light of recent changes in state law but actual practices in the schools as well as student, parent and public opinion.

Principals from the county’s schools also attended the meetings to discuss the policies with the board.

School officials told the Washington Daily News they hope to have all of the academic policy changes ready to present to the board for its review at its April 19 meeting so parents and students can be prepared for the changes before the start of the 2011-2012 school year.

During the two meetings, the policy governing exam exemptions received the most intensive review and was the subject of the most heated debate of all the policies reviewed by the board.

The new policy was approved only after a word-by-word discussion of changes to the previous policy and four votes on various proposed changes.

It expands the number of students eligible for exam exemptions under the school system’s previous policy.

But it reduces the number of students who will be given exam exemptions at Southside and Washington high schools, where historical exemption policies were in place that differed from the school system’s written policy.

At those schools, students with an average grade of 85 or above in a course and no absences have also been exempt from end-of-course exams.

The principals of those two schools told the board that exempting those students has been effective in encouraging school attendance.

“They come to school sometimes when you have to tell them to go home,” said Southside High School Principal Rick Anderson.

Some of the most contentious debate among board members concerned including that exemption in the new policy.

Some board members supported the exemption.

“It’s working at Washington (High School), and it’s working at Southside (High School),” said Banks.

Others said exempting students with a grade point average in a course equivalent to “a low ‘B’” was lowering standards too much.

“If you want to dangle a carrot, get another carrot,” said board member Barbara Boyd-Williams.

The board rejected a motion that would have included exemptions for those with a grade average of 85 or above and no absences in the new policy with Banks, E.C. Peed and Williams voting in favor of the motion. The remaining six board members voted against the motion.

All board members attended the meeting.