More MontCo students taking alternative route to diplomas | Washington Examiner

More MontCo students taking alternative route to diplomas | Washington Examiner

Much of Montgomery County Superintendent Jerry Weast's 11-year tenure has focused on closing the "achievement gap" between black and Hispanic students and their higher-performing white and Asian peers.

"We have a firm commitment to a vision that race, ethnicity and poverty will not be predictors of academic success," said Weast, who is retiring in June.

But more minority students failed the HSAs: 88.5 percent of black students passed, down from 90.1 in 2009; meanwhile, 88.2 percent of Hispanic students passed, down from 91.4 percent. Nearly 99 percent of white students passed the HSAs, as did 97 percent of Asian students, for drops of less than 1 percentage point from 2009. (The pass rate includes multiple attempts.)

Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/More-MontCo-students-taking-alternative-route-to-diplomas-1132745-104441038.html#ixzz11fyNUigP