Burbank students score higher than state average on high school exit exam

Nearly all of the Burbank students who took the California High School Exit Exam during the 2014-15 academic year passed it, according to the results that state officials released last week.

Of the 10th-graders who took the exam, 94% passed the math portion, while 95% passed the English language arts portion.

Those results place Burbank Unified significantly higher than the state average, which saw 85% of students pass both the math and English language arts sections of the test.

In addition, 91% of the economically disadvantaged students in Burbank who took the exam passed the math portion, and 92% of them passed the English language arts portion.

Comparatively, the state average saw 79% of economically disadvantaged students pass both math and English sections of the exam.

This year marks the last time districts will receive scores on the California High School Exit Exam, known as the CAHSEE.

Senate Bill 725, which was signed into law in August, suspended the exam.

The test became a requirement for students to pass in order to receive their high school diplomas beginning with the graduating class of 2004.

Sharon Cuseo, assistant superintendent for Burbank Unified, was unavailable to comment on the high school exit exam, but a Glendale school official said the exam was based on former English and math standards, and tested students’ proficiency in those content areas. However, it was very traditional.

“It’s not reflecting what we’re currently teaching our kids,” said Deb Rinder, director of secondary education for Glendale Unified.

Now, as school districts across the state, including Burbank Unified, have adopted the Common Core State Standards, they are intent on students achieving proficiency across all content areas with the aim to prepare them for college and careers.

With Common Core, educators are focused on the “four Cs,” which are collaboration, critical thinking, creativity and communication, Rinder said.

“I think the challenge that we have is that the majority of jobs that our students will hold really have not been created. So how do you create college- and career-ready individuals for jobs that have yet to be created?” she asked. “Really successful people have the ability to apply their knowledge and utilize what we refer to ‘the four Cs’ in life.”

Educators will use other assessments to test pupils’ critical thinking, basic knowledge and literacy, with an overarching focus on how students apply those skills.

“That’s the direction that we’re headed. That’s what businesses and colleges are requesting,” Rinder said.

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Kelly Corrigan, kelly.corrigan@latimes.com

Twitter: @kellymcorrigan