Thousands of Arizona high school seniors and juniors who have yet to pass the AIMS test may no longer need to pass to graduate.
The Senate Education Committee has voted to permanently eliminate the requirement that students pass all three AIMS sections to get their diplomas. But the legislation is far from final.
It still needs the okay of the full state Senate and the House, along with the governor’s signature to become law.
The idea of state Sen. Kelli Ward’s bill is AIMS proficiency is no longer need. The test is about to be replaced by a new exam, based on the Common Core standards. The graduating class of 2016 is the last one required to pass AIMS.
The bill doesn’t eliminate all graduation requirements. Current sophomores will still have to pass a new civics test to get their diplomas.