From the August 14, 1996 Daily Report Card:
-> *2   SHELL SHOCK:  ARKANSAS OFFICIALS DISMAYED WITH TEST RESULTS
-> Ark. students taking a pilot high school graduation exam
-> failed in shockingly high numbers (Howell, Arkansas DEMOCRAT-
-> GAZETTE, 7/13).  According to the paper, 98% of students failed the
-> math portion and 89% did not pass the reading section.  A
-> majority of the 11th-graders taking the test -- 67% -- passed the
-> writing test.
->    "We were somewhat shocked," said Steve Hall, a member of a
-> citizens committee formed to develop test standards.  Hall added that
-> test scores may have been lower because students realized it was a
-> pilot exam and did not take it seriously.  The state Board of
-> Education agreed to phase in the test score standards over
-> five years; a direct result of the dismal pass rate of students,
-> reports the paper.
->    The exams included both open-response and multiple-choice
-> questions.   Committee members developed minimum standards and
-> applied those standards to the scores of about 20,000 high school
-> juniors who took the exam last spring, writes the paper.
->    In the wake of the low student pass rate, committee members
-> re-grouped and decided to phase in the test standards.  For
-> example, the passing score will be lowered the first year by five
-> points on the math and reading sections.  The passing scores will be
-> raised one point each year, beginning in 1997-1998, until the
-> 2001-2002 school year, notes the paper.  However, the higher
-> writing standard will be immediately implemented.
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