Graduation may not be in cards for some seniors

COLUMBUS (AP) _ Educators worry thousands of students may not get their high school diplomas on time in the first graduating class required to pass the state's new and more challenging Ohio Graduation Test.

This year's seniors began taking the test as sophomores, and about 23 percent — some 30,000 students — still have to pass at least one section before graduation. Their last chance to take it was earlier this month, and the scores come out in May.

About 14,000 students last year had their graduations held up for failing to pass the previous test, the ninth-grade proficiency test.

The new test has several changes: It tests knowledge at a higher grade level, for the first time is aligned with a state curriculum and features fewer multiple choice questions in favor of short essay responses.

Some teachers worry the changes came too quickly for the class of 2007.