FORT WORTH — Leslie Peña is in the first graduating class of the Texas Academy of Biomedical Sciences, but she also holds another distinction.
She is among the state's first seniors who had to pass the STAAR test to graduate.
"I am definitely glad it's over,'' Peña, 18, said of the battery of required exams in the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness. She took end-of-course assessments for English I, English II, Algebra I, biology and U.S history.
Dozens of Tarrant County seniors who have not passed all sections of the STAAR will not be allowed to take part in commencement. They are among the 8 percent of seniors in the state who had not passed all sections of the exam by early this year, according to a Friday release by the Texas Education Agency.
Much smaller percentages of Tarrant County seniors have been affected by the state's accountability rules, according to districts that released the data.
In Arlington and Fort Worth, fewer than 6 percent of seniors will not be allowed to walk across the stage to get diplomas. Birdville and Hurst-Euless-Bedford school districts have fewer than 2 percent who won't be allowed to participate. In Keller, two seniors are ineligible.
