Judge to decide if students who fail CAHSEE will graduate
Hollister – As local students sharpened their pencils yesterday for their last chance at passing the California High School Exit Exam before graduation this year, an Alameda County Superior Court judge considered whether that same exam is legal, despite the months of work and fine tuning by educators at both the state and local level have invested in the CAHSEE.
“I think it’s very sad that this has gone on for so long, for the students who are pawns in all this and the community,” said Evelyn Muro, San Benito High School District Trustee. “If memory serves, the exams test eighth grade-level math and 10th grade level English, and I don’t think that’s asking too much from our graduating seniors, and our public has a right to expect that.”
A group of 10 Alameda students and their families filed suit against the state Department of Education in February, claiming that the exams are unconstitutional because they discriminate against students from low-income families and English-learner students. On Monday Superior Court Judge Robert Freedman issued a tentative ruling in agreement with the plaintiffs, but the Attorney General’s office argued at a Tuesday hearing that should the judge rule in their favor, the decision should only apply to the six students named in the lawsuit who haven’t passed the test, not the 47,000 seniors who have yet to pass statewide. Freedman will issue his final ruling Friday.
“I will continue to fight to preserve the integrity of the California High School Exit Exam,” State Superintendent of Instruction Jack O’Connell said in a released statement. “The vast majority of students in the Class of 2006 have passed the exam. Those students deserve the opportunity to graduate with diplomas that demonstrate mastery of essential skills in reading and math. Those students who have not yet passed are getting targeted remedial instruction to help them learn the critical math and English skills they will need to survive beyond high school.”
Locally, 73 Gilroy High School students and 36 Mt. Madonna High School students still need to pass at least one portion of the test.
In San Benito County, 26 SBHS students need to pass at least one portion, only eight of which need to pass both portions. An additional 23 special education students need to pass the exam, but have been granted an extra year.
Malorie Katavich, 18, supports the decision – she already passed the test but thinks that in general it’s not a good marker.
“I don’t think we should have that test because if we’ve passed the requirements, we passed high school,” she said. “I didn’t think it was hard, but I think it’s a dumb test.”
But Jenine Vadiollo, 17, said she believes they should keep the test, but take into consideration other students like ELL who may have problems.
“I think if they’re going to make a law they should stick to it,” she said. “I didn’t think it was particularly hard, but I understand there are other issues with ELL students. I’m not sure how they should handle that.”
Many local educators have spoken in favor of the CAHSEE in the past, on the grounds that it is an efficient and relatively painless way to ensure that students are at least competent in basic math and English reading and writing skills.
In a unanimous vote in February, 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 that night.
More frustrating to local educators is the thousands of dollars that have been sunk into testing, particularly this year. Not only does it cost money to administer the tests, many school districts enroll students who do not pass in remediation classes, hire teachers to teach those classes, offer after-school help and administrators and board members have spent countless extra hours coordinating and developing new policies regarding the exams.
“I don’t think anybody realizes how much time and energy and money has gone into this,” said Muro.
While it appears that few educators will be pleased should the CAHSEE be declared unconstitutional, others are quick to point out that it is not the only indicator of student success. In recognition of that, SBHS and the San Benito County Board of Education is offering “Certificates of Completion” to students who has passed their classes but not the CAHSEE.
“Would I be glad to see the Exit Exam done away with? No, because it’s a fine measure of achievement,” said Joan Campbell- Garcia, President of the County Board of Education. “Do I wish that we had more measures of achievement available to us? Absolutely.”
Students who fail the exams administered yesterday and today have one final opportunity to take the CAHSEE in July, after attending a summer school remediation course. San Benito High School teachers contacted for this article did not return phone calls by press time.
Staff Writer Kristen Munson and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
