GILROY
– When members of the class of 2006 take the high school exit
exam for the first time next spring, their diplomas will be on the
line.
Based on exam results from this year, they might have a better
chance of passing the California High School Exit Exam on their
first try. Members of the class of 2005, the second group of
students to take the state standards-based exam, passed at much
higher rates than the class of 2004 on first administration.
By Lori Stuenkel
GILROY – When members of the class of 2006 take the high school exit exam for the first time next spring, their diplomas will be on the line.
Based on exam results from this year, they might have a better chance of passing the California High School Exit Exam on their first try. Members of the class of 2005, the second group of students to take the state standards-based exam, passed at much higher rates than the class of 2004 on first administration.
Of 549 10th-graders tested on the English-language arts portion of the exit exam this spring, 78 percent passed after one testing and 57 percent of 554 students passed the math portion. Students have up to six tries to pass the exam.
When the class of 2004 first took the exam, 62 percent passed in English and 36 percent in math. However, those students first took the exam – designed to be administered at the end of a student’s sophomore year – as freshmen, to practice for what they thought was going to be the real thing. They were the first students ever to take the mandatory exam.
“I don’t compare first time to first time,” GHS Principal Bob Bravo said. “But even comparing sophomores to sophomores, the class of 2005’s first time to the class of 2004’s two times, (the class of 2005 is) still better off.”
As sophomores, 73 percent of the class of 2004 had passed the English section of the exam and 53 percent had passed the math section.
Bravo said that students are better prepared for the test, inside the classroom and out.
“I think it is a greater awareness, both on the part of the teachers and the students, as to what the tests are about,” Bravo said. “Kids talk to kids, they have a certain amount of awareness.”
Also, students who took the test last spring were under the impression that the exam could be the determining factor in whether they receive a diploma in the next two years.
“The class of 2004 first took it as freshmen, when it seemed further away. As it got closer, they got more serious: When everyone took them in the spring, everyone thought this would count,” Bravo said.
The state Board of Education decided in July to require the class of 2006, rather than 2004, to pass the test to get a diploma.
Although this year’s juniors are now off the hook, when they tested this spring, 22 percent failed in English and 43 percent failed in math. That means 326 of this year’s juniors are below grade-level in at least one of the two subjects.
English language learners, who underperform on standardized tests district-wide, had one of the lowest passing rates of any subgroup. Of ELL students who took the exit exam in the spring, 33 percent passed in English and a mere 23 percent passed in math.
That leaves room for improvement for the sophomores who will be tested next spring, although some progress has already occurred.
“There is a general improvement over some of the populations that have taken the test in the past,” Trustee Tom Bundros said. He said the key to continuing success is “making sure that the kids are adequately prepared … especially in their freshman and sophomore years because the test basically pulls from those first two years.”
The examination of the GHS reading list and English academic program by the Reading Literature Advisory Group is a start to better prepare students, he said.
“We are looking at the English curriculum and making sure that it does in fact provide the information and learning they need to pass the test,” Bundros said.
Although the class of 2004 was given a break, Bravo wants to be sure that this year’s sophomores from the class of 2006 understand that the exit exam is here to stay. California Education Code allows only one postponement.
“The fact that is was postponed once might give a false signal that it will happen again,” Bravo said.
However, he is optimistic that students will stay motivated to pass the exam.
“We don’t have to lose momentum; we can keep it going,” Bravo said. “We can find out when the rubber hits the road, and we actually take the test (next) spring.”
Other high schools in Gilroy fared worse than GHS students on the exam last year: Students at El Portal Leadership Academy, Gilroy’s charter high school, who took the test for the first time this spring, had passing rates of 52 percent on the English portion and 16 percent on the math portion. At Mt. Madonna High School, 58 percent of sophomores and juniors who took the exam passed in English and 14 percent passed in math.
Statewide, those rates were 66 percent for English and 43 percent for math.
Data from this year’s test showed that class of 2004 students who failed on their first try had difficulty passing on successive attempts. Only 36 percent of GHS students who retook the English section between March and July this year passed, while 31 percent passed the math section.
After three years of testing, 20 percent of this year’s seniors still need to pass the English section of the exit exam and 34 percent need to pass the math portion.
“There would have been some intervention classes happening specifically for them, so it would have been hard to know what the absolute percentages would be for students who still needed to pass,” Bravo said.
Students who perform below grade level and are at risk of not passing the exit exam may enroll in intervention courses specifically geared to bring students up to grade level by building their basic skills.
Students can take one of two levels of Accelerated Literacy courses depending on whether they are below grade level by more or less than two years. Students are placed in intervention courses based on standardized Measure of Academic Progress tests administered across Gilroy Unified School District three times each year.
Math intervention courses focus on preparing students for the basic math skills and Algebraic concepts covered by the exit exam, said Ann Zuhr, math department chair.
A special Algebra A/B course covers one year of material over two years. In Algebra A, students cover the first semester of Algebra 1 with a “double block” of classes, meaning their class meets every day rather than every other day.
“It is a new implementation for us this year to have the double block, so we can do a much better job of addressing those basic (Algebraic) skills,” Zuhr said.
A Business Math class covers basic general math skills from a practical use perspective, Zuhr said. Students might take the class before or after completing Algebra 1 if they still need to improve their fundamental skills.
New intervention courses run by tutoring service Extreme Learning were offered this summer, as well. During three sessions of three weeks each, the program served 89 students – mostly English Language Learners – from GHS and Mt. Madonna High School.
Exit exam results
Class of 2004
Passing after one test (as freshmen):
English-Language Arts 62 percent
Math 36 percent
Passing after three testings:
ELA 80 percent
Math 66 percent
Class of 2005
Passing after one test (as sophomores):
ELA 78 percent
Math 57 percent
