Published: September 04, 2008 08:40 am      

Bridge Plan is third option available to eligible high-schoolers

CUMBERLAND — Beginning with the graduating class of 2009, students will not only be obligated to complete all state course and service learning requirements, but will also be required to pass each of the four High School Assessment tests or earn a combined score of 1602 on them.

The Bridge Plan for Academic Validation is now a third option available to eligible students for meeting this portion of the graduation requirement, according to the Allegany County Board of Education. Each of the three options is a separate path; however, students are encouraged to work on parallel paths. The best option for completing the HSA graduation requirement is still to pass the exams.

The Bridge Plan assigns a student project modules covering specific content that he or she would be expected to know or have mastered for the HSAs. A student’s content area HSA score will determine the number of projects the student will be required to complete. These project modules are time-intensive and in most cases require monitoring during school hours as well as guidance outside of the regular school day.

In order for students to be eligible for the Bridge Plan option, they must have taken an HSA exam twice without passing or meeting the combined score option, passed the HSA-related courses, participated in locally administered or approved assistance, and be making satisfactory progress toward graduation. The public school system will deem a student ineligible for the Bridge Plan if he has eight or more unexcused absences.

School-based coordinators are in the process of contacting parents of students eligible for the Bridge Plan option to schedule conferences. For more information, log on to www.mdbridgeplan.org or contact the student’s high school.

Students who have failed a content area HSA at least once or who are at risk for failure can enroll in HSA prep courses, HSA tutoring and HSA recovery.

The prep courses are available for students who scored more than 15 points below the cut score on previous assessments and are provided as a scheduled class period. Students will not receive a grade for the course, but rather will either pass or fail.

Tutoring is provided within the school day to students who scored within 15 points of the cut score on assessments. The HSA recovery services are provided outside the regularly scheduled school day to students who scored more than 15 points below the cut score on assessments.