Board says students who fail the CAHSEE will not participate in
graduation ceremony
Gilroy – Seniors who fail to pass the California High School Exit Exam won’t be donning a cap and gown this June.
In a unanimous vote, the Gilroy Unified School District board voted against awarding students who have yet to pass the exit exam by the end of their senior year a certificate of completion or allowing them to participate in the graduation ceremony. Board members said that doing so would defeat the purpose of the exam.
“We don’t want to dilute the significance of the diploma,” said Trustee Javier Aguirre, before making the first motion at the Monday school board meeting.
Students will still be able to attend Grad Night and the senior Disneyland trip. Although he voted in favor of the proposal, David McRae said he remembers the late board member TJ Owens mentioning the “bias of low expectations,” and that even letting students attend the senior trips is lowing standards.
When Assistant Superintendent Jacki Horejs presented the recommendation to the board, she said that the value of a high school diploma shouldn’t be overshadowed by a piece of paper.
“We believe that passing these requirements is a floor not a ceiling for our students and in order to be successful they are certainly going to have to have the skills required by the CAHSEE,” she said. “We have a concern that awarding a certificate might seem to them that their studies are in fact finished.”
After the vote, Superintendent Edwin Diaz thanked the board members for their support of the district’s recommendation, saying their decision showed their commitment to standards.
“In the long run this will benefit Gilroy Unified School District,” he said.
There are still 109 Gilroy and Mt. Madonna high school seniors in danger of not graduating. The students have one more chance to take the CAHSEE in March.
Six years ago, the state approved legislation requiring seniors to pass the exit exam in exchange for a diploma. But because such a high number of students were failing the test, the California Department of Education placed the requirement on hold.
Although the state has made it clear that students, beginning with the class of 2006, who don’t pass the CAHSEE won’t earn a diploma, they left the specifics up to local school boards.
In November, the San Benito High School District board unanimously approved a policy allowing students who fail the CAHSEE to participate in graduation.
Options Considered
– Awarding a certification of completion to students who have met all course and credit requirements but not passed the CAHSEE
– Criteria for certificate of completion
– Participation in graduation ceremony
– Participation in senior activities such as Grad Night and the senior trip to Disneyland.
Who still needs to pass?
– Gilroy High School: 73
– Mt. Madonna High School: 36
