When State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell released results for the 2008-09 high school exit exam on September 2, he was “pleased to see that these results show that California’s high school students are continuing to meet the challenge of higher expectations.” This despite the fact that nearly 1 in 10 of California’s class of 2009 did not receive a passing score.
Approximately 90.6 percent, or 432,900 students, in the Class of 2009 successfully passed both the English-language arts and mathematics portions of the California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE) by the end of their senior year. The remaining 45,015 students, who did not meet the requirement due to failing one or both parts of the CAHSEE, are eligible to continue to take the test and earn a high school diploma.
O’Connell stated, “It is vitally important that young people know and understand the subject matter tested on the high school exit exam whether they are heading to college or directly into the workforce. The CAHSEE helps us ensure that each student is prepared with the critical basic skills needed for future success.”
An increasing percentage of students are passing the exit exam on their first opportunity in the tenth grade: 79.2 percent of the Class of 2011 has already passed the English-language arts portion, compared to 77.1 percent of tenth graders in the Class of 2008. In mathematics, the passage rate for first-time test taker has increased to 79.8 percent, an increase of 4.3 percent over the Class of 2008.
The achievement gap, however, makes clear that the pubic education system is continuing to fail large numbers of primarily black and Latino students. By the end of their senior year, the cumulative passing rate for African American students was 81.4 percent; Hispanic or Latino students, 86.6 percent; Asian students, 95.3 percent; and white students, 95.9 percent.
For complete results by subgroup, please refer to the tables provided by the California Department of Education.
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