Reshaping Alabama's Education System

Former Hanceville student Miranda Robertson made good grades and got all the inspiration she needed from her high school experience to eventually return as a teacher’s aide in the Cullman County school system. What she didn’t get? A diploma. Robertson would have graduated in 2005, and though she got to walk and received a certificate of attendance, she still couldn’t technically graduate because she failed one section of a certain standardized test. It didn’t matter that she made As and Bs every year — what she really needed was a passing mark on the Alabama High School Graduation Exam. Regardless of performance, students have been required to pass the test to exit a state school with a diploma for decades.