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For Some Students Stalled by STAAR, a Safety Net Awaits

Legislation passed in 2015 paved the way for a pilot program that would provide an 
alternate route to graduation for students who struggle to pass the end-of-course 
exams for the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR, test. Texas 
Senator Kel Seliger, of Amarillo, authored the original bill and has fi led new papers for 
the 2017 legislative session, asking lawmakers to make the program permanent.

For certain students, an individual graduation committee (IGC) can turn what feels 
like failure into success. 

Omar’s Story

Ahmed Omar studies from sun up to sun down most days. So much so, 

his mother often calls to ask if he remembered to eat. “I spend my day and 
night focusing,” says Omar, known to friends by just his last name. “I leave 
my house at 7 a.m. and sometimes I come back at 11 p.m. or midnight 
from studying. My mom calls to see if I’ve eaten, but I’m just hungry for 
education and hungry for success.”

Omar believes he is the youngest student in some of his pre-nursing 

courses at Amarillo College. But as the oldest of his siblings, Omar feels a 
great deal of pressure to set the bar high. “You always want to have a better 
and brighter future for your kids,” he says. “I have a burden on my shoulders 
not only to be a great brother, but to show I can take care of my family and 
have a good quality of life.”

Omar will graduate this spring and move forward to a nursing degree 

program that requires its students to earn an “A” in biology and nothing less 
than a high B in anatomy and physiology I and II.  He is a shining example 
of a dedicated student. However, that doesn’t mean being a student, much 
less being a good student, is easy for Omar. 

 “What’s the point of going to school? I had to ask myself,” says Omar. 
He knows what it’s like to give as much effort as one student can possibly 

muster and still fall short.  

Omar, who came to America as a seventh grader from the Somalian city 

of Mombasa, was challenged to adjust to the language and the rigor of his classes at Palo Duro High School. 
Omar spent each of the summers of his high school years in summer school, working to catch up. “Nobody likes 
summer school, but I think those extra steps are more that motivates you to learn,” he says.

When it was time to take the STAAR end-of-course exams, Omar retook each of those as many times as the 

law allows.  “Senior year was tough. I took the English end-of-course exam in December and failed it. The last 
time I could take it again was in April, so I took it then and I failed again,” says Omar. “I said ‘Okay, I give up. 
There’s no point in me going to school.’”

Omar buried his head in his hands, face down at his desk. 
“My dreams were shattered,” says Omar. “But then my English teacher came running in. She had been 

crying… for me. She said, ‘Omar, you have a high chance of graduating in May,’ and I said, ‘But I failed the test.’”

That’s when Omar learned about a backup plan included in Texas law to help students who’ve exhausted all 

STAAR testing opportunities receive their high school diploma, despite their test scores.

“I’m just hungry for education 

and hungry for success.”

Gradu-

Waiting