Judge’s order, however, could void implementation of school
district’s test
Morgan Hill – Only a handful of Morgan Hill Unified School District seniors have not passed the California High School Exit Exam after the February administration of the test.
Pat Blanar, the district’s director of curriculum and assessment, told School Board trustees Tuesday night that 39 Live Oak High School seniors and eight Central High School seniors have not passed both the English-language arts and the math portions of the test. This is the first year since state legislation passed in 1999 that graduating students have been required to pass the test to receive a high school diploma.
But a tentative ruling earlier in the week by Alameda County Superior Court Judge Robert Freedman, regarding the exit exam could make it a moot point; Freedman said if a student has not been adequately prepared for the exam, he or she could receive a diploma, even if he or she did not pass it.
Freedman ruled Friday that the exit exam would not be required for the
Class of 2006 to receive a high school diploma.
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell said he has instructed attorneys to appeal the ruling and seek a stay of injunction.
“The sad part of this is that students are being given double messages,” Blanar said. “Here’s this judge ruling on whether it counts or not on the exact same day our students are taking the exam. It’s playing adult games with kids’ lives.”
The exit exam tests eighth grade-level math and 10th grade-level English-language arts standards. Students need to correctly answer 60 percent of the questions.
Of the Live Oak students, 27 are special education students and six are English-language learners. Ten of them have not passed the English-language arts portion, seven have not passed the math portion and 22 of them have not passed either section.
Of the Central seniors, one of the eight is a special education student and six of them are English-language learners. Three of them have not passed the English-language arts portion, while four of them have not passed the math section and one of them has not passed either portion.
Seniors who had not passed after the February testing opportunity had another opportunity this week. If there are still seniors who did not pass during this latest round of testing, there will be another opportunity in July.
Because of a law that recently passed, there will be a one-year exemption for special education students, allowing them to receive a diploma even though they don’t pass both portions of the exam. Other students who don’t pass one or both portions of the test, but have completed all other requirements for graduation, will be allowed to participate in commencement ceremonies, according to Blanar, and will receive a certificate of completion.
Blanar also presented trustees with results of the MHUSD tenth-grade students’ first time taking the exam.
Of the 694 students in the district that took the English-language arts portion, 86 percent passed, a one percent increase from 2005. Of the 693 district tenth graders that took the math portion, 83 percent passed, a one percent decrease from 2005.
The percentage of Live Oak High School students that passed each portion was down compared to last year.
“Sobrato’s numbers continue to improve, but Live Oak is a more mixed story,” Trustee Peter Mandel said during the board meeting. “Is there any sort of root cause analysis going on why so many subgroups declined?”
Blanar said the data will be closely looked at by her department, along with Live Oak High School Principal Nick Boden and his staff.
According to the California Department of Education, students had their first crack at CAHSEE in the spring of 2001, when it was offered to volunteer ninth graders. Later that year, an Assembly bill took away the option for ninth- grade students.
The following spring, 2002, tenth graders who had not passed both parts of the exam took either both parts if they did not pass both, or just the section they did not pass.
The CAHSEE was offered for the first time in spring 2001 to ninth graders who voluntarily took it. In October 2001, Assembly Bill 1609 removed the option for ninth graders to take the CAHSEE beginning with the 2002 administration. The CAHSEE was next administered in spring 2002 to all tenth graders who had not passed it during the spring 2001 administration. It has since been administered several times to the remaining students in the class of 2004 who have not yet passed one or both parts (i.e., ELA and mathematics). The class of 2005 took the CAHSEE for the first time in spring 2003. In July 2003, the SBE took action to move the passage of the CAHSEE as a diploma requirement to the Class of 2006. The Class of 2006 took the CAHSEE for the first time as tenth graders in February 2004.
Marilyn Dubil covers education and law enforcement for The Times. Reach her at (408) 779-4106 ext. 202 or at md****@*************es.com.
