Atlanta Public Schools will celebrate the graduation this evening of 138 former students who weren’t previously eligible for diplomas because they failed part of a now-defunct state standardized test.
They can get dilplomas now becaue a law enacted earlier this year eliminated the requirement that students pass the Georgia High School Graduation Test to graduate from high school.
The test dates to 1991 and was intended to ensure high school graduates met basic academic standards. It was eventually replaced by other standardized tests.
State officials estimated that the new law would affect about 9,000 people.
Atlanta has notified more than 500 former students they now qualify for graduation as a result of the law, district officials said.
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