TUCSON, Ariz. — Falling behind became easier to do during the pandemic.
Some students disengaged in remote mode, so grades took a hit across the nation.
Tucson Unified School District recently reported that there are academic losses and that they are severe.
Question is -- how severe did it hit the senior class?
Did more seniors lose too much academic ground during the pandemic to recover in time?
Superintendent Gabriel Trujillo said it's too early to tell how many seniors will actually walk on graduation day.
"We're not going to know until teachers do their grades. We've not run any comprehensive reports for the purpose of allowing counselors and senior teachers to work with their students without any added pressure. But we're coming to the end of the line," said Trujillo.
That's when those students who are on the edge, academically scramble to get assignments done that could boost their grades.
"You've got last minute assignments, last minute projects, teachers making accommodations, teachers working with seniors," he said, "There's a lot of dust right now. That's not going to settle probably until Tuesday."
Trujillo listed a few courses that seniors often struggled with.
"Government, senior English second semester or economics," said Trujillo, "Those are usually the three courses that will stop a senior as they try to make up time."
And those seniors who have simply lost too much ground to graduate on time, might be able to recover enough credits in summer school.
"Usually a senior that's coming down to the wire like this is probably one class short, two classes short maybe. We do have a summer graduate ceremony," he said.
TUSD's credit recovery program starts June 2.
The summer graduation ceremony takes place the end of June.