Bridge plan... bridge to...what?

I echo the concerns of the previous writers concerning the bridge plan. The class of 2009 is the first who must fulfill the HSA requirement. Students who do not pass are allowed to do projects, one of which counts for approximately 20 points on the HSA.
I have served as a bridge monitor and a scorer for biology, and I have been disappointed by the process. Individual schools have been responsible for obtaining the projects, materials, and teachers in order to help students satisfy the requirement. Unfortunately, many schools suffered from disorganization and lack of clarity from MSDE.
My main concern is that the projects are too difficult for students to complete. Please do not misunderstand- no one in Baltimore wishes this were the case. We would all prefer our students to read and write on grade level (and to have passed the exams), but they largely don’t. Therefore, completing bridge projects becomes an overwhelming mass tutoring event designed to score enough points.
Are students therefore more prepared to graduate? I see the bridge plan as exhausting, having spent many afternoons and Saturdays assisting with the same shark, etc. projects. I have witnessed students with special needs struggling for three hours a day to read and complete a project because there are no modified projects. If the purpose of the plan was to increase student achievement, it failed. On the other hand, if it was designed to drain more time and money out of departments that can spare neither, the project was a roaring success.