Exit exam back on track Exit exam back on track (March 26, 2004)

High school classes of 2006 must pass to graduate

By Julie O'Shea

While high school students graduating in 2004 and 2005 won't have to pass the exit exam to get their diplomas, teens in the Class of 2006 didn't manage to sneak past this latest state requirement.

Some 300,000 sophomores across California spent last week filling in answers to the high-stakes exam that tests both their math and reading skills. There was a 98 percent participation rate at the Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District.

"Everything was completely successful," said Brigitte Sarraf, the district's associate superintendent of educational services. "Everyone was hyped up. Everyone was very positive."

The revamped two-day exam, which was administered for the first time in 2002, was unexpectedly halted by the State Board of Education in July after an independent study determined that students needed more time for the test.

However records show more than 90 percent of Mountain View High's Class of 2004 had passed the language arts portion of the test, while more than 80 percent had passed the math portion before the exam was suspended. At Los Altos High, roughly 90 percent of the Class of 2004 had passed language arts, while close to 80 percent had passed math.

The state board decided not to make the exam a requirement for the Classes of 2004 and 2005. State law will not allow the exam to be delayed again, trustees said in a statement last summer.

The requirement will impact students ready to graduate on or after July 1, 2005, said Lily Roberts, the Department of Education's lead consultant for high school test services. Students in the Classes of 2004 and 2005 who have already passed the exit exam can request a special certificate of accomplishment to be awarded by their high school districts, according to a statement from the state board.

Last week, was the first time students in the Class of 2006 had a chance to take the test, Sarraf said. Only 15 students were absent the day it was administered, she noted, adding that those students will have a chance to take a make up test.

Results for last week's testing won't be available for several weeks, Sarraf said.

The exit exam tests language arts at the ninth- and tenth-grade level and math up to and including algebra. The test was shortened from three to two days to release the "burden on schools," Roberts said. What this equates to is one less essay question on the language arts section and less multiple-choice questions on the math portion.

The exit exam is used when calculating the Academic Performance Index (API), the state's school ranking system, and for the federal No Child Left Behind Act, which mandates that all students, including English language learners, will be proficient in math and reading by 2014.

E-mail Julie O'Shea at joshea@mv-voice.com

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