10 MAY 06: THE GEORGIA 499

Tuesday was graduation day at the Teenage Parenting Center, the school for teen mothers and those expecting children. Relatives of the graduates must feel a bit awkward. Do you buy a gift for one person, or two?

(Congratulations, ladies - and remember: just because you've tapped out of TAP doesn't mean you're old enough to get drinks at the Uptown Tap.)

To graduate from a Georgia high school this year, the rules are a bit different than in the past. You might not need to score a 500 on all of the state exams in various subjects to receive a diploma. But if your child scores higher than 500 on video games instead, it might be time for a talk.

The Georgia Department of Education apparently is tired of hearing complaints from parents about seniors being denied diplomas, because they fell barely below 500 in an exit exam. Now they can apply for waivers in some cases -- which makes you wonder why Governor Perdue wanted that "65-percent" rule for education funding.

The new rules allow students to apply for a "waiver and variance" to possibly receive a diploma, if they score....

+ as low as 496 in social studies. Isn't this a bit like the military allowing "precision bombs" which are four miles off target?

+ as low as 494 in mathematics. Based on this logic, the right answer for "two times seven" could become eight.

+ as low as 493 in language arts. It took fewer than seven acts of plagiarism, to get that student novelist at Harvard in trouble.

Muscogee County school officials explained Tuesday the new waiver system is in place, if students can show "by some other means" they've learned the subject matter of a course. For instance, guys can prove they're skilled in geography if they actually read a map.

But somebody's got to ask it - why does Georgia need to blur the pass-fail line for its high school exit exams like this? I don't see the reason for it. And yes, I guess that makes me a textbook "hard-liner."

The Georgia Department of Education appears to be caving in to a group of whining parents, by allowing waivers for scores below 500. After all, the only place in NASCAR where going 499 can get you a win was that race in Talladega a couple of weeks ago.

Are we setting a wrong example for young people, by allowing them to get a diploma with a bit less than the minimum score? Not everything in life has this sort of "fudge room," you know -- well, besides driving above the speed limit on the
interstate....

Throughout my years in college, I strove for straight A's - and one semester I thought it surely had happened. But my instructor at a radio news internship gave me a B. When I asked why, he simply said: "I never give anybody A's." And critics probably called him a liberal journalist, too.

I could have run to the news media or filed a university grievance over that grade, to gain a 4.0 semester. But I accepted the decision, and lived with it. Besides, I was already IN the news media....

If it isn't clear, my point is this: without clear lines for success, don't Georgia schools risk making the boundary even fuzzier and blurrier? What if a student scoring 492 in math feels wronged? What if a baseball coach demands a waiver in the playoffs, after a close call at home plate?

The new waiver rule for Georgia exit exams is a classic case of "mercy versus justice." But part of me hopes a student who receives a diploma with a 498 score BECOMES a justice -- in case I'm dragged into court for some reason.

Let's draw a line for our discussion right here, and catch up on other items from Tuesday's news:

+ The Muscogee County Sheriff and Marshal went before a Columbus Council budget review session - and both said they need more personnel. It's starting to sound like the only place in Columbus which does NOT need more staffing is W.C. Bradley.

(City Manager Isaiah Hugley predicted the proposed fiscal 2007 budget will make personnel requests in coming years unnecessary. Others in Columbus are predicting somewhat the same thing - only based on someone else becoming mayor.)

+ A new agricultural science building was dedicated at Auburn University. It's named in part after Alabama Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks, who's running for reelection. Wow - Roy Moore doesn't even have this sort of clout at Christian schools.

+ Columbus High School floored Flowery Branch 3-1, and advanced to the Georgia high school boys' soccer finals. Let's see: first in boys' golf, second in girls' golf, finalist in boys' soccer, more Page One awards than any other school - you know, this "break up C.H.S." talk is starting to make sense.

+ Eufaula swept away Russell County in the Alabama high school softball playoffs. This was a complete surprise to me -- considering baseball coach Tony Rasmus was free for three days, to help the girls' team.

+ Auburn University backup quarterback Calvin Booker announced he's transferring to Georgia Tech. Somehow this doesn't seem fair. Shouldn't Georgia Tech have to give up a couple of high school signees to be named later?

+ Instant Message to the RiverCenter staff: Aren't you concerned about some customers getting confused? Thursday you're presenting "Clifford the Big Red Dog." Friday you're presenting Kathy Griffin, the big-mouthed red-headed.... naahh, I'd better stop there....

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