California High School Exit Exam

California's high school exit exam is keeping disproportionate numbers of girls and non-whites from graduating, even when they are just as capable as white boys, according to a study released Tuesday. It also found that the exam, which became a graduation requirement in 2007, has "had no positive effect on student achievement."

As early as fourth grade, students who will be at risk of failing the high school exit exam -- a state requirement to earn a diploma -- can be identified based on grades, classroom behavior and test scores, according to a new study released Tuesday.

At first they didn't succeed, so they tried, tried again. Of about 40,000 students who failed the mandatory California High School Exit Examination last year, about 45% have enrolled for a fifth year of high school or an adult education program, according to new figures from the California Department of Education. About 4,800 passed after taking the test once more. The data also show that this year's class of graduating seniors has a pass rate of 91.

Alma Zavala immigrated four years ago from the Mexican state of Michoacan to Santa Ana, a bustling city dense with new immigrants. Ashley Daigle was reared in Chino Hills, former dairy farm country that is being rapidly developed into tidy subdivisions with names such as Agave and Citrus Commons. The high school seniors, who grew up in seemingly different worlds, have a common goal: They must pass the state's new high school exit exam this week or they will be denied diplomas in June.

Nearly 89% of seniors have passed the California high school exit exam, but wide achievement gaps remain for poor students and English learners, according to new figures released Tuesday by the state Education Department. Overall, 88.8% of seniors -- or 430,894 students -- have passed both parts of the exam, which measures reading and writing skills and basic math ability. About 93% of seniors have passed the English portion and 92% have passed the math part.

More than 5,000 seniors in the Los Angeles Unified School District have yet to pass the state's high school exit exam, according to figures released Friday by the district. This year, for the first time, seniors must pass the two-part exam that tests basic math and English skills in order to graduate. As of February, 5,280 students -- about 18% of the total senior class -- still needed to pass one or both parts of the test, district figures showed.

The percentage of high school seniors who have passed California's new exit exam has remained stuck at a little less than 90%, putting about one in 10 at risk of being held back from graduation, according to figures released Thursday by the state Department of Education. About 7,000 seniors passed the test in February out of approximately 46,000 who took it, state officials said. That increased the total number of seniors who have passed the test to a little less than 390,000.

Community colleges have long offered a second chance to students with lofty ambitions but lousy high school grades. Now many two-year colleges are trying to attract a new group seeking a fresh start: seniors leaving high school this month without diplomas because they couldn't pass California's new exit exam. The Los Angeles Community College District, the state's largest, and others around California are welcoming many of the nearly 42,000 high school seniors tripped up by the exit exam.

More than 400,000 high school seniors have passed the California High School Exit Exam, according to final results announced Thursday by the state Department of Education. An additional 819 students passed the test in July, raising the overall pass rate to 91.4%. Nearly 38,000 students failed to pass and were urged to attend community colleges, adult schools or return as seniors.