Opposition to High School Exit Exam Growing
SACRAMENTO — Momentum is growing to provide alternatives to California's controversial high school exit exam, which critics say contributes to low graduation rates and discriminates against minority students.
The test's opponents in the Legislature sought support Wednesday for two new bills that would rein in the graduation policy, which is a requirement for next year's senior class. Both measures passed committee hearings.
Grass-roots groups, meanwhile, have been mobilizing against the test by lobbying legislators, holding rallies and recruiting new members on high school campuses.
"I'm very concerned that students will be discouraged and [question] why they should go forward if their futures rest on one exam," Assemblywoman Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) said before the vote, which fell largely along party lines. "I don't understand why people think that giving an exam magically improves education."
But the test, which students begin taking in their sophomore year and have six chances to pass, is praised by others who say it is an important measure of academic success. They note that research is inconclusive on whether the exam contributes to low graduation rates.
Bass' measure would offer students alternative methods to prove their knowledge of English and math through assessments and projects tied to the state's academic standards.
The other bill, in the state Senate, would delay the exit exam requirement until schools demonstrate that they offer access to fully credentialed teachers, adequate books and counselors -- educational deficiencies that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has publicly acknowledged.
Assemblywoman Jackie Goldberg (D-Los Angeles) said at the education committee hearing that students who fail the exit exam are often victims of classroom deficiencies. The exit exam, she said, "is going to punish the students who were born poor" and attend underachieving schools.
Republicans voiced dissent, saying that an unfettered exit test can motivate learning, promote better standards and ensure that all graduates meet a statewide standard.
Assemblyman Keith Richman (R-Northridge), a physician, noted that after medical school he had to take board tests ensuring competency. The state's high school exit exam represents a similar hurdle, Richman said.
If it proceeds with the planned exit exam, California would join 19 other states that require students to pass high school exit exams.
