Boyd students rise to Gateway challenge

By WILL STEWART / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard

WOMACK

Students at Boyd Christian School recently showed their smarts on the newly instituted Gateway exams, posting a combined 97 percent pass rate on all three tests. The 2003 exams were taken by students statewide in May.

On one test, the biology Gateway exam, 100 percent of the school’s 15 students taking the test passed at an advanced level.

“We’re really pleased. The results speak for themselves,” said Boyd president C.N. Womack. “We’re very proud of the good job being done by our teachers and by our students.”

The Gateway exams were instituted by the General Assembly last year as a way to raise the academic bar and increase the accountability within all Tennessee schools, public and private. Beginning with last year’s sophomore class, passing exams in the three core subjects – algebra, biology and English II – is required to graduate with a regular education diploma. If students fail the exams initially, there are opportunities to retake the tests with the hope graduation will not be jeopardized.

In addition to the hard work of her teachers and students, Boyd principal Eva Ferrell credited Boyd’s impressive Gateway results to the school’s small classroom environment. With fewer students, teachers aren’t rushed to push through material, she said.

“There’s more one-on-one instruction and the teachers have more time to fully explain the concepts and that helps,” Ferrell said. “We also emphasize good study skills here at Boyd.”