The California Department of Education has released the latest results for the California High School Exit Examination, which show the state’s public high school students continue to make steady progress in passing the test.
“I am pleased that the latest exit exam results show that more of our students are mastering the mathematics and English language arts skills measured by this exam,” said Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell. “Passing the exit exam is a high school graduation requirement because students need these important basic skills to be successful in college, the workforce and in life.”
By the end of their senior year, approximately 94.5 percent of students in the Class of 2010 successfully passed both the English language arts and mathematics portions of the CAHSEE.
The latest results also indicate that an increasing percentage of students are passing the CAHSEE in the 10th grade, which is the first opportunity students have to take it. More than 80 percent of the Class of 2012 has already passed the ELA and mathematics portions.
The results for subgroups of students show the achievement gap on CAHSEE is narrowing. By the end of their senior year, the cumulative passing rate for African American students was 89.7 percent; Latino students, 91.6 percent; Asian students, 97.4 percent; and Caucasian students, 98.1 percent.
“Closing the achievement gap and ensuring that all students are prepared with these critical skills must remain a top priority,” O’Connell said. “I applaud the hard work of our students, teachers and school staff that has resulted in the gap narrowing, but we cannot rest until it is fully erased and all students are meeting their full potential.”
Students with disabilities are currently exempt from meeting the CAHSEE requirement; however, many of these students continue to take the exam. For the Class of 2010, the passing rate for students with disabilities was more than 53 percent.
In July the State Board of Education determined that alternative means to the CAHSEE are feasible and directed the CDE to draft regulations to extend the implementation date for alternative means from Jan. 1, 2011 to July 1, 2012. The exemption from meeting the CAHSEE requirement for students with disabilities remains in place until alternative means are implemented.
Students who have failed one or both parts of the CAHSEE by the end of their senior year are still eligible to continue taking the test and earn a high school diploma. According to preliminary analysis conducted by Human Resources Research Organization, CDE’s independent evaluator, an estimated 417 additional students from the Class of 2006 (the first graduation class that was required to meet the CAHSEE requirement) persisted in taking the test and successfully passed it between July 2009 and May 2010. So did 677 additional students from the Class of 2007, 1,329 additional students from the Class of 2008, and an estimated 4,514 additional students from the Class of 2009.
For the Class of 2010, approximately 24,600 students have not yet met the requirement.
Due to the state budget crisis, funding intended for intensive remediation for students struggling to pass the CAHSEE was included in the list of categorical programs that can be used for any general educational purpose.
O’Connell has called on schools and districts to continue to offer additional focused instructional services to help struggling students master the skills measured on the CAHSEE and meet the graduation requirement.
CAHSEE 2010 results been posted on the CDE website at http://cahsee.cde.ca.gov.