What you need to know
On Jan. 16, GISD trustees passed a measure providing alternate graduation standards for some students who were unable to graduate from the district due to performance on state exams, such as the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness or Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills, but met all other requirements enforced when they entered high school.
In district documents accompanying the measure, district staff indicate that the change was to be included in a cluster of policy updates in 2018, but was not included in the measure trustees voted on at that time. These documents state the district has no record of why this policy was not included in the update.
The details
Per the new policy, students who met all graduation requirements except for performance on STAAR/TAKS and entered high school before the 2011-12 school year may receive their diploma if they demonstrate proficiency in the content areas of those exams. Factors taken account in determining someone's proficiency include:
- Course grades in the subjects related to the exams
- STAAR and TAKS scores
- Performance on projects and work samples related to content areas of these exams
- School attendance rate
- Completion of career and technical education courses
- Any other experience deemed relevant by the graduation committee
