Students in GUSD have one more chance to take and pass the test
to graduate this school year
Gilroy – At least 112 seniors are still facing the prospect of not graduating alongside their classmates this school year.
The seniors, all members of the class of 2006, have yet to pass the California High School Exit Exam, according to results released Monday. Although the new number is an improvement over the 178 seniors who were failing the CAHSEE before the November retake, district officials are still worried.
“We did OK,” Gilroy High School Principal Jim Maxwell said. “We didn’t do great and we didn’t do poorly.”
Maxwell said the students did “pretty well in math” but he’s still worried about the English language learners struggling to pass.
A total of 77 GHS seniors still need to pass one or both sections of the CAHSEE. The exam is divided into an English and math section.
At Mt. Madonna High School, Gilroy’s continuation school, 35 seniors still need to pass the CAHSEE. Students take the high stakes exam, which tests their reading, writing and math skills at the eighth grade level, for the first time as sophomores. If they fail to pass the CAHSEE in the tenth grade, they have five more chances to take it before graduating.
The November CAHSEE was only administered to juniors and seniors who had either not passed or never taken the test. Of the 213 GHS students who took the November test in math, 78 passed. A total of 59 Mt. Madonna students were tested in math and 17 passed.
About 164 GHS students took the English section and 51 passed. Fifty Mt. Madonna students were tested in English and 23 passed.
Rob van Herk, Gilroy Unified School District’s information technology manager, said the numbers are an estimate because they vary when community school, adult education and independent study students are factored into the equation.
Although students won’t earn a high school diploma until they pass the CAHSEE, the state has given local school districts the power to make decisions regarding participation in graduation ceremonies and the awarding of a certificate of completion.
The GUSD board is discussing the various options available and will make a decision at their Feb. 13 meeting.
