AIMS results are in

Yuma County had its first casualties of the state high school graduation exam this year. Fewer than 10 seniors did not graduate this spring because they failed part of the Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS) test, according to Arizona Department of Education (ADE).

ADE officials did not specify exactly how many students did not graduate due to AIMS. They said the small number involved created privacy concerns about revealing individual students' test scores.

The AIMS scores are being released to the public today. As of Tuesday, the names of the specific schools of the failing students were not released by the ADE.

Principal Randy O'Donnell of Antelope Union High School said one of them was an Antelope student.

A few Yuma Union High School District seniors did not graduate, according to YUHDS Superintendent Toni Badone.

Some students may come from area charter schools. The Sun was not able to contact all local charter school officials Tuesday

Statewide, ADE figures show that 525 seniors failed to graduate this year because of AIMS. They still have one more chance to take it this summer to receive their diploma this year, according to ADE officials.

AIMS is Arizona's statewide graduation exam that all public and charter school students have to pass to earn their diplomas.

It tests students in math, reading and writing. A science portion will be added this school year.

Students pass if they "exceed" or "meet" standards on the test. They fail if they "approach" or "fall far below" the standards.

Students have six chances to pass the test, beginning in the spring of their sophomore year.

The average scores of county high school sophomores were up this year, though they were still behind the state average.

In YUHSD, 58 percent of sophomores passed the AIMS math test in 2007, compared to 56 percent in 2006. In writing, 62 percent passed in 2007 compared to 54 percent in 2006.

Reading successes dropped overall from 65 percent in 2006 to 62 percent this year.

At Antelope Union High School, 42 percent of sophomores meets or exceeds in math, 57 percent in writing and 62 percent in reading.

The local percentages are below the statewide averages for sophomores. In Arizona as a whole, 68 percent passed in math, 75 percent in writing and 73 percent reading.

While there were 3,425 additional seniors around the state who failed parts of AIMS last year, they still earned their diplomas through a process called augmentation.

This is an ADE provision that allows students earning a "C" or better in their regular classes to use their grades to boost their AIMS score.

To be eligible, the student must have passed all required coursework, taken the AIMS every time it was available for them to take and have participated in tutoring when it was offered.

YUHSD Associate Superintendent Mark Bastin said that more students definitely would have failed to graduate without the augmentation safety net.

That safety net will be gone this coming year, according to the ADE. The Class of 2008 is the first who will have to pass AIMS on their raw score alone in order to graduate.

"We're not counting on augmentation anymore. We have to be conscious of that and make sure the programs are there to help the kids get through and graduate," Bastin said.

Superintendent Bob Klee of the Antelope Union High School District said he expects graduation rates across the state to be impacted, and his school will be no different.

"I think there are quite a few students who used the augmentation process to meet the standard for graduation," Klee said. "I don't think we'll probably be any different than anybody else."

Klee added that he thought AIMS had been beneficial to state education in many ways, such as getting schools to align curriculum with state standards.

However, he added the pressure from it was intense on schools and students.

"I have kind of mixed feelings on it," Klee said. "It does put a lot of pressure on the kids to meet those standards. I think it’s both good and bad."

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Local results from the spring 2007 Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards test. Numbers are the percentages of sophomores, juniors and seniors tested who passed with a score of "meets" or "exceeds."

ANTELOPE UNION HIGH SCHOOL

Math (145 students tested) - 47%

Reading (128) - 55%

Writing (123) - 57%

CIBOLA HIGH SCHOOL

Math (671) - 62%

Reading (724) - 56%

Writing (695) - 56%

KOFA HIGH SCHOOL

Math (969) - 48%

Reading (933) - 55%

Writing - 51%

SAN LUIS HIGH SCHOOL

Math (676) - 39%

Reading (687) - 38%

Writing - 38%

VISTA ALTERNATIVE SCHOOL

Math (216) - 17%

Reading (139) - 39%

Writing (94) - 34%

YUMA HIGH SCHOOL

Math (1,031) - 48%

Reading (968) - 57%

Writing (873) - 64%

AZ-TECH HIGH SCHOOL

Math (61) - 5%

Reading (33) - 46%

Writing (33) - 27%

CARPE DIEM COLLEGIATE HIGH SCHOOL

Math (57) - 30%

Reading (39) - 56%

Writing (44) - 78%

HARVEST PREPARATORY ACADEMY

(Did not have a senior class in 2007)

Math (32) - 19%

Reading (28) - 38%

Writing (32) - 25%

PPEP TEC JOSE YEPEZ LEARNING CENTER

Math (58) - 10%

Reading (51) - 28%

Writing (51) - 19%

YUMA PRIVATE INDUSTRY COUNCIL EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY CENTER

Math (86) - 14%

Reading (54) - 28%

Writing (38) - 40%