But principals pleased that
so many students passed the high school exit exam
Gilroy – Seventeen Gilroy seniors on track to graduate learned Friday that they failed to pass the exit exam and won’t get the chance to don a cap and gown in June. The seniors – 13 from Gilroy and four from Mt. Madonna high schools – were all on track to graduate but didn’t pass the March administration of the California High School Exit Exam.
Seniors graduating this year are the first class required to pass the exam in order to earn a diploma.
Principals from both the local high schools are pleased so many of their students ended up passing the final test, but the celebrations were tempered after receiving the news.
“I would never say I’m happy with the results because even when you have one student who will be sitting at home (on graduation night), that’s just hard to swallow,” said Mt. Madonna Principal Sergio Montenegro. “As an administrator of this school I hold myself responsible for every student, so it’s really difficult to accept that any student won’t graduate.”
James Maxwell, Gilroy High School principal, also expressed lukewarm feelings when asked about the results.
“I’m very happy,” he said. “Of course, I would have been ecstatic if it had been zero.”
Maxwell said he was particularly excited to see that nine of the 13 students who passed were English language learners.
Before the March exam, about 51 GHS and 22 Mt. Madonna seniors had not passed the CAHSEE. Fifteen of the GHS seniors who failed to pass had not earned all the necessary credits and 23 were special education students.
At Mt. Madonna, 15 students who failed did not earn enough course credits and three fell under the special education exemption. Special education students were exempted from the requirement this year but will have to pass the CAHSEE in order to graduate next year.
The principals met with the students individually who were on track to graduate but failed the CAHSEE, to lay out their options. Students will have the chance to retake the test in July or November, continuing school in the fall, attending intervention summer school, Gavilan College or adult education.
Students may also enroll in the year-round AdvancePath program at GHS, which runs through the summer. The program is for drop-outs or at-risk students, but also has extensive CAHSEE curriculum.
“They were relieved to see there are alternatives,” Maxwell said. “The sooner they get done they sooner they can move on with their lives.”
The principals said they let the students know that whatever path they choose, they will receive guidance from the local school system.
“The bottom line is we’re not going to let these students slip through the cracks even further,” Montenegro said.
At Mt. Madonna, Gilroy’s continuation school, students actually took the test in May, even though they might have already passed it. The results won’t be in time to graduate with the class of 2006 but the extra administration means some students will learn that they passed in the summer, Montenegro said.
The exit exam has had quite a rough time in California. Legislation was passed six years ago but the state placed the requirement on hold when a high number of students failed to pass. In November, the San Benito High School District board unanimously approved a policy allowing students who fail the CAHSEE to participate in graduation.
The Gilroy Unified School District board decided that only students who passed the test would be able to participate in the ceremony. This month an Alameda County judge ruled that the test was unfair and it was canceled.
But the decision was appealed by the state superintendent and on Wednesday the California Supreme Court reinstated the exam. In response the law firm leading the case against the exit exam, filed a request for an emergency hearing but on Friday the court decided against considering an appeal on short notice and the decision stands.
