Graduation may be 10 months away for Gilroy High School seniors,
but passing the California High School Exit Exam is one obstacle
about 80 Gilroy High School seniors have yet to clear.
Gilroy – Graduation may be 10 months away for Gilroy High School seniors, but passing the California High School Exit Exam is one obstacle about 80 Gilroy High School seniors have yet to clear. But, according to CAHSEE results released Monday, more Gilroy juniors have passed the exit exam than ever before.
High school students first take the exit exam in tenth grade. If they do not pass as sophomores, they have five more opportunities to take the exam. The CAHSEE is designed to ensure students’ competency in reading, writing and math.
“I think it actually creates some consistency across the state – so that a diploma from Gilroy High School means the same as a diploma from Los Angeles Unified School District,” explained Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services, Jackie Horejs. “It defines what every high school student is able to do. Remember, it’s a flooring, not a ceiling … It’s what the minimum competency is for all high school students.”
The test is broken down into two sections, math and English Language Arts (ELA). Students are required to retake only the sections they fail.
The Class of 2006 will be the first held accountable for passing the state exit exam. Originally, the CAHSEE was designed to go into effect for the class of 2004, but the date was pushed back to 2006 by the state’s board of education after 40 percent of would-be seniors failed the exam.
According to Diaz, more than 90 percent of GHS seniors have passed the exam. The majority of students who still need to pass are either Special Education or English Language Learners, he said.
This year, 71 percent of GHS juniors passed the math section and 78 percent have passed the English Language Arts portion, up about five percentage points in both categories from last year. Countywide, the passing rate is 82 percent for both math and ELA sections. Statewide, 74 percent of juniors passed the math portion and 76 percent passed ELA.
Those figures decrease across the board when all students districtwide, countywide and statewide are included. Throughout Gilroy Unified School District, 59 percent passed math and 64 percent passed the ELA section.
“We’re going to have to engage parents and their kids,” said Superintendent Edwin Diaz. “I was very disappointed in that we offered very specific classes for students who haven’t passed (the CAHSEE) in summer school and we didn’t have a high turnout.”
Letters were sent home to parents of entering seniors who have yet to pass the exit exam, warning them of the importance of passing the test, and explaining that CAHSEE prep courses were offered this summer.
The program was developed last summer.
Prep classes and special intervention courses will be offered throughout the school year for seniors.
“We’re mandating intervention classes,” said GHS principal James Maxwell.
He will be meeting with teachers next week and to discuss the exit exam.
While some seniors may be hoping that implementation of the exit exam is pushed back again, Assistant Superintendent Horejs warned students against counting on it.
“I think that politically most people believe that its going to happen,” she said.
