All but one of Akron's seven traditional high schools improved at least a little in the Ohio Graduation Tests this year, with Kenmore showing the biggest jump, from 82 percent passage in 2007 to 98 percent this year.

Akron Alternative Academy also made a big jump, from 74 percent to 87 percent. Garfield slipped a little, from 94 percent to 93 percent.

The final number of students needing to pass one or more tests — 70 — is eight fewer than what was presented to the school board on Tuesday.

Some students who failed one of the tests by 10 points or fewer may still graduate under the state's ''alternative pathway'' provision.

They must meet other requirements, such as a 97 percent attendance rate during their four years of high school and completion of intervention programs offered by the district in their failed subject area.

The district was still sorting out who qualified for ''alternative pathways'' this week.

Also, some students may not graduate because they don't have enough credits. The OGT is a separate, state-mandated requirement.

The OGTs measure knowledge at the 10th-grade level in five areas: reading, writing, mathematics, science and social studies.

Students have seven chances to pass all five tests before their graduation date, beginning with the spring of their sophomore year.

Fewer seniors failed in each of the five subjects this year compared with last year.

But 60 of the 70 students not graduating failed the science test, compared with 24 who failed math and 21 who failed social studies.

The tests with the highest passing rates were writing (4 failed) and reading (6 failed).

Kenmore High School posted the strongest gain in the science section over last year.

In 2007, 20 seniors failed the test. This year, two failed.

Last year, 13 seniors at Garfield failed the science test. This year, 18 didn't pass it.

Akron Alternative Academy showed the biggest gain in social studies. Last year, 19 students failed that section. This year, five did.

The graduating class of 2007 was the first required to pass the tests. About 8 percent of last year's class — 127 seniors — failed to pass all the tests by graduation time.

This year, it's 4 percent and there's still hope for them.

Of the seniors last year who couldn't cross the stage for their diplomas, 106 enrolled in the summer OGT preparation session. Of those, 56 passed their OGT last summer and subsequently received their diplomas.

This year, the district will hold registration for its free OGT summer school on June 9 and 10 for juniors and seniors. Testing will begin the week of June 23, about a month ahead of schedule so students can get results back in time for college in the fall.

noweb