Permian High students don’t get to walk after late test scores

ODESSA, Texas (KOSA) -Throughout the week, graduations have occurred all over the Permian Basin.

Last night, Permian High school held its ceremony, but not everyone was able to walk on stage.

Because ECISD has not received test results from the Texas Education Agency, some students were told they wouldn’t be able to walk.

Instead of staying at home, Frank Garcia and his family decided to go out and celebrate regardless of if he walked or not.

Even though they are upset, they hope that something like this doesn’t happen again.

“Did they really hurt our feelings? Yes. Did they hurt our kids’ feelings? Man, it burst their bubble. It really smashed their goals in life,” said Frank Garcia’s mom, Veronica Arriaga.

Apart from getting the right number of credits and grades, students also have to worry about the end of course assessments to graduate.

Students are required to pass Algebra 1, English 1 and 2, US history and Biology EOC exams.

For Garcia and his family, last night was supposed to be a night for them to celebrate his accomplishments.

Instead, it turned into a night they all want to forget.

“It just sucks because now everything gets pushed back. And I’ll have to wait until summer like July, end of July or something like that. So, everything just got pushed back. I don’t know. It just sucks. It’s a little difficult right now to like to figure out what to do,” said Frank Garcia, Permian High student.

Garcia’s family purchased his cap and gown a while back and more items that had class of 2023.

“The money wasted, the time wasted, that these kids just got this door shut on them. So, we really gotta work on letting our kids as much as they work hard, we really need to let them walk the stage with their class,” said Arriaga.

ECISD Superintendent Dr. Scott Muri does say it’s taking longer than usual to get the results back.

“There is a delay in the exact time that we receive the scores for students this year. And that happens about once every five years, the state redesigns the assessment. And there is a delay when we receive those results,” said ECISD superintendent Dr. Scott Muri.

For some parents who may be thinking, why couldn’t they just let the students walk on stage and let them have their moment.

Dr. Muri said,  “To earn a high school diploma, you must complete all the requirements. And we guarantee to the state of Texas that a student before they receive that high school diploma, they have met all of the requirements,” said Dr. Muri.

At first, we were told the results would come on May 31, but Dr. Muri says they may not get the official results until August.

So, for those that though they may have a summer graduation, may need to happen in August.

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