Approximately 87 percent of Worthington sophomores can put the high school graduation test behind them.

 

The rest will need to try again.

The sophomore class takes the Ohio Graduation Test (OCT) each March. Results recently released by the Ohio Department of Education show 86.8 percent of Worthington's tenth-graders passing all five sections of the test this spring.

Last year, 82.9 percent passed on the first try.

Those who did not pass one or more sections will have seven more opportunities before graduation time rolls around in two years.

The OGT replaced the ninth-grade proficiency test in 2005. Beginning with the class of 2007, seniors needed to pass all parts of the OGT to earn diplomas.

Of the five seniors who did not graduate from Worthington high schools last month because of the OGT, all had failed the science portion of the test. All took the test again last week, but the results are not yet known.

"Hopefully, they will all pass and be on their way," said Jennifer Wene, director of teaching and learning.

As for the approximately 13 percent of sophomores who did not pass all parts of the March test, they will receive additional attention from teachers and academic aides, as well as programs set up to help them succeed.

"We will continue to find more ways to reach them," Wene said.

Overall, she was pleased with the results of the March tests, especially in science and social studies.

On the science exam, 91.9 percent passed, compared to 89 percent last year.

On social science, 92 percent passed, compared to 90.9 percent last year.

Those results follow the statewide trend, as do the results on the reading, math and writing tests. All of those went down this year.

Reading fell from 95.5 percent passing last year to 93.8 percent this year; math from 93.1 percent to 93 percent; and writing from 96 to 93.1 percent.

Writing scores fluctuate because so much depends on the prompts used in the test, and on the graders, Wene said.

Overall, though, passing rates have remained steady over the years, despite the district's changing demographics.

The number of students living in poverty and those who speak English as a second language continues to increase in the district. Both groups tend to show difficulty in passing state tests, Wene said.

"The fact that scores have not gone down shows we are doing some things right," she said. "The strategies are working in reaching these kids."

The goal is to have 100 percent of students pass all of the tests on the first try, she said.

In Upper Arlington, the district is nearing that goal, with 94 percent of sophomores passing all five tests this past March.

Of the 16 districts in Franklin County, Upper Arlington had the highest overall passing rate, followed by Bexley (93.9 percent); Dublin (89.2); Grandview Heights (88); Worthington; Hilliard (79.7); New Albany-Plain Local (79.6); Westerville (76.9) Gahanna-Jefferson (75.9); Reynoldsburg (72.4); Canal Winchester (72.2); Hamilton Local (64.7); South-Western (58.9); Whitehall (41.9); Groveport Madison (50.3); and Columbus (38.9).

Statewide, the percentage of sophomores who passed all tests was 65.