"For each roll of film, the photo shop charges 18 cents per print plus a developing fee. The total cost to have a 24-print roll of film developed and printed is $5.92. Let 'd' represent the developing fee for a roll of film. On the line below, write an equation that could be solved to find 'd.' You do NOT have to solve the problem."

If your answer to this question was $5.92 {equals} 24($0.18) + d, you are correct. If not, and you missed other problems like it, you might have failed the math portion of the Graduation Qualifying Exam. And you won't graduate from high school unless you pass it.

Does that seem a little harsh? For students Samantha McClimon and Kristi Greenwalt, it did.

Starting with the Class of 2000, Indiana high school students have been required to pass the GQE to graduate. Neither Samantha nor Kristi passed the test the first time they took it as sophomores. Y-Press talked to them to see what effect that had on their lives.

Samantha, or Sam, graduated from Pike High School last spring. Kristi is a senior at North Central High School. Each girl previously had failed one section of the exam.

"I was disappointed I failed the English and passed the math above standards," Sam said.

Kristi's problem was just the opposite. "I failed the math part twice. I was to the point of almost crying," she said.

Both girls had friends who also didn't pass at first. And they are not alone; according to results released by the Department of Education, 9 percent of the Class of 2001 failed the English part of the GQE, and 13 percent of the Class of 2001 failed the math part.

Wes Bruce, director of assessment for the state of Indiana at the Department of Education, explained to Y-Press the process for ensuring that the GQE tests students on what they are taught.

Bruce said the Department of Education "brings in an expert panel," which looks at all the educational standards of the state and gears the GQE specifically to students in Indiana.

"We use a group of teachers who do what I call a content review. So what we're doing is taking a skill, a standard, and we have teachers looking at each item and determine whether or not that item actually measures that," he said.

State law also requires that the items on the test be examined by a 15-member citizens review committee and reviewed for bias.

"They look at whether or not all the math items talk about boys and all the English items talk about girls -- something as simple as that. It's also looking for whether there may be information asked that might be common knowledge for people in South Bend but that's not common knowledge for people in Evansville," he said.

Although there are two ways to get a diploma without passing the GQE (see sidebar), most students take the test, and many find it stressful.

But is it the best measure of a student's ability?

Although many educators believe the GQE is an accurate test of basic knowledge, many students think it is unfair. Kristi described a better alternative: "The grades you get throughout high school should be determining when you graduate."

Sam added, "It is more a reflection on teachers and how they teach the students than it shows anything on the students' ability to learn."

Both girls agreed their teachers should have better prepared them. Kristi said, "I'd go back to my eighth-grade year and learn it again."

Nevertheless, the test is here to stay. Kristi and Sam both prepared the second time in new ways. Sam asked her English teachers for help. Kristi took math remediation classes. Both received support from their parents.

This story does have a happy ending, though. Both Kristi and Sam have passed their respective sections of the test.

So what is their advice to fellow test-takers?

"Just go in there and don't be nervous," Kristi said. "Just read the questions, just take it like a normal test, and just try not to be nervous and try to answer them to the best of your ability."

Sam urges an honest assessment of your abilities. "Try to get some help if you think you're not going to do very well, and just pay attention to your time and just don't rush through it," she said.

Bruce also had some advice.

"Tests are one measure of student performance. Even though they're very important and there's a lot of stress around the test, you need to try to keep the test in perspective," he said. "If you don't do well, you need to go back and look at those underlying skills and look at where your strengths are and weaknesses are and go back and work on that."

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About the test

Students may graduate without passing the GQE if they have:

* Taken it at least once each school year as a sophomore, junior and senior.

* Completed remediation provided by the school.

* Maintained 95 percent attendance.

* A "C" average in the 22 credits required for graduation.

* A written recommendation from a teacher in the failed subject area stating they have 9th-grade skills in that subject.

* A certification from their principal stating all other graduation requirements have been met.

A student may also request a waiver if they have:

* Successfully completed the Core 40 curriculum.

* A written recommendation from their principal.

* Taken the GQE as a sophomore and later if needed.

For additional information, contact the Indiana Department of Education at 1-888-54-ISTEP

(1-888-544-7837) or on the Web at www.doe.state.in.us/istep.

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ASSISTANT EDITORS : Emily Christie, 14; Kimberly Heron, 14; Magen Kritsch, 16.

REPORTERS : Katie Bolinger, 12; Rebecca Salois, 12.