Pinellas schools look to boost attendance by making it easier to skip finals

The move would lower the bar academically, but school board members hope it will encourage high school students to show up more regularly.

Tampa Bay Times | By  Jeffrey S. Solochek | March 5, 2024

LARGO — Pinellas County high school students could find it easier to opt out of their final exams next year.

School district officials said they view the idea as a way to encourage teens to attend classes more regularly.

Their plan, presented to the school board on Tuesday, would allow students to exempt semester exams for as many as three courses in which they are averaging a C grade or better over both quarters, and have not missed more than five days in those classes.

The current rule permits exemptions for A and B grades, for students who have five or fewer absences from all courses. The district recently reinstated the attendance requirement, after having waived it during the pandemic so students would not come to school sick to maintain their exemption status.

Pinellas, like school systems across Florida and the nation, has seen a spike in absenteeism that has lingered in years since the pandemic. In the 2018-19 school year, 18% of students missed at least 10% of their classes. That number shot to 33% in 2021-22 before improving slightly to 29% last year.

Other districts in the Tampa Bay area have seen a similar trend.

Pinellas Area Superintendent Mike Vigue suggested that if a greater number of students view exam exemptions as accessible, they might choose to go to classes more regularly rather than skip out of frustration.

Setting the grade level for getting out of the exams at C reflects the level of student proficiency for a course, rather than requiring mastery, Vigue said. It also falls in line with expectations for passing at the high school and college levels, he added.

The question became, “If students are demonstrating proficiency, then is the exam really needed?” said Leanna Ison, district director of strategic planning, who helped write the proposal.

A third part of the recommended policy revision would allow students to exempt exams from the same course two semesters in a row. The district currently does not allow that.

Vigue said this change might encourage students who have required exams in many of their classes, such as Advanced Placement, Cambridge AICE and state-mandated algebra and language arts.

Some students might have only three courses available to exempt, he noted. This change would give them some breathing room.

The goal, Vigue said, is to “engage students in the academic middle” in areas they might have considered unreachable.

Board members signaled their support for the concept, despite some initial reservations.

“I was surprised when I was first reading it,” board vice chairperson Carol Cook said. “The more I thought about it, you need a 2.0 (grade-point average) to graduate. If you have a C already, I’d rather have you spend time studying for a class you have a D in.”

Board member Stephanie Meyer acknowledged some people might view the proposal as a watering down of expectations. She did not agree with that assessment.

“The goal is to increase participation in school, and make sure kids are coming,” Meyer said. “If there is that incentive, even if I am not an A student, if I am attending and engaged in the classroom, I still have the opportunity to exempt one or maybe more.”

She added that she liked the idea of letting students distinguish between classes, rather than have the attendance apply overall, saying the flexibility should help.

Tackling the absentee issue is critical, said board member Lisa Cane.

“There is a lot of truancy,” Cane said, noting it occurs among students who are doing well and poorly in classes. “We need to push students to remain in class and continue to come.”

The policy proposal is scheduled to come up for a public hearing on April 23, with final consideration set for June.