Newsroom | Archive 2006
State superintendent brings high school exit exam forum to Riverside County Office of Education
Jack O’Connell, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, announced Wednesday, January 18, at a Riverside County Office of Education forum that some special education students may be exempted for one year from the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE). (Video - requires QuickTime - and presentation slides available online.)
But for most graduating seniors this June, passing the test is still a requirement to get a diploma, said O’Connell, who authored the legislation creating CAHSEE in 1999. Students may begin taking the test in their sophomore year, and may attempt to pass the test at least six times before they graduate.
Right now about 75 percent of 10th grade students are passing the exam. No figures are available yet on how many students will not graduate because of the test. The class of 2006 is the first to be required to pass the test since the legislation creating it was made into law. It also figures into a school’s rank on the state’s Academic Performance Index (API) and federal Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) score.
‘We need to prepare students to succeed in a global economy,” said O’Connell. “I’ve come to the conclusion that no suitable alternative to the CAHSEE exists. I want a high school diploma to mean something.”
O’Connell acknowledged that some school districts are allowing seniors to participate in graduation exercises without knowing if they passed the CAHSEE, which he called “a local school board decision.” The state is trying to get scores from the May test date returned to schools by early June – before graduation.
The forum on the high school exit exam was attended by more than 100 people, many of them school district testing administrators, superintendents, and board members. It was one of a handful of forums in the state organized by O’Connell to provide local districts with help in getting more students to pass the test.
Educators said that special education students and English learners especially had difficulty passing the test.
Dr. Lily Roberts, administrator of the Standards and Testing Division, California Department of Education, reminded educators that students have six opportunities to pass the test. She said the state can provide study guides, sample questions and suggestions for teacher training.
Roberts encouraged local educators to visit the department’s web site, www.cde.ca.gov, for information and best practices from districts that had been successful in getting seniors to pass the test.
Roberts said that for those who do not pass, districts could offer independent study in a fifth year of high school, or students could attend an adult program or even junior college. She said the state is doing all it can to give students as many opportunities as possible to take the test, including the possibility of adding a summer testing date.
Dr. David Long, Riverside County Superintendent of Schools, announced that locally, the Riverside County Office of Education is organizing the Riverside County CAHSEE Excellence Program, which will collect information on the best practices for preparing students to pass the test and sharing that information with local school districts who need it.
For information contact:
Rick Peoples,
Public Information Officer
Telephone: (951) 826-6642
Fax: (951) 826-6199
rpeoples@rcoe.us
|
