Will Students Be Ready for High School Exit Exam?

Beginning with students in ninth grade and forever after--or at least until California law changes--no one will be awarded a high school diploma without passing an exit exam.

Putting aside my personal feelings about the mandate, I worry that so few parents and students know this. I also worry that high schools are unprepared for how the test is likely to change how they do business.

On March 7, 2001, students will take the language arts portion of the high school exit exam, and on March 13, the mathematics portion. State officials recently proposed making the first administration of the test voluntary and only for practice, but in the spring of 2002, all 10th-grade students must take the exam.

Given that results of the March test will be sent to schools within about 10 weeks, my guess is that most parents and schools will want their ninth-graders to take the exam next spring in order to identify students who need intensive summer school help.

Kids will have many chances to retake the test throughout their high school years and will be able to “bank” a passing score in either language arts or math. What they won’t be able to do is graduate from high school without passing both portions of the test. That includes special education students as well as students who are still learning English.

The exit exam in language arts has two parts, reading and writing. In the reading section, students must answer multiple-choice questions based on passages from literature--fiction, nonfiction, poetry and drama--as well as from informational texts.

In the writing section, students will answer questions on usage and mechanics and write two short essays. The mathematics section of the exam will require that students have knowledge of the first semester of algebra.

California’s exit exam is a serious test. It is also seriously standards-based. For example, three items on every form will test students’ mastery of Standard 3.7, which demands that they “recognize and understand the significance of various literary devices, including figurative language, imagery, allegory and symbolism, and explain their appeal.”

In order for students to answer questions based on this standard correctly, they will need instruction that includes the study of rich, challenging literature. They also need to learn the language of literature study.

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Making this happen for every student is not going to be easy. Many young people who will be taking the test next spring have very poor reading skills or have never been exposed to the concepts of beginning algebra. As a result, those teenagers will be tested on things they have never been taught.

The solution is not a crash course in exit exam preparation but rather a long, hard look at what goes on inside high school classrooms. Are students writing regularly and getting feedback from teachers on their papers? Is every student enrolled in a course of study that leads to algebra? Have all students had the opportunity to read poetry and to talk about the poet’s purpose and tone?

If schools can’t answer yes to these questions, they aren’t offering students the instruction they need to earn diplomas. And that’s not fair.

For a more detailed description of the specific California language arts and mathematics standards that test items reflect, go to https://www.cde.ca.gov/statetests/hsee/tguides.html. The California Department of Education Web site also offers answers to frequently asked questions.

My concern is that hardly anyone is asking questions, particularly the one that only time can answer: Will California’s exit exam raise achievement or cause students to drop out?

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Sampling the Exit Exam

California education officials are still refining their plan to have a high school exit exam in place for the Class of 2004, this year’s freshmen. They are the first who will have to pass the test to receive diplomas. Students will take the test for practice next March. With a sizable percentage of students expected to fail the exam, the State Board of Education has proposed making the test shorter and easier. The board will seek urgent legislation in January to make the changes official. Here are sample questions that can be found on the California Department of Education Web site, https://www.cde.ca.gov/statetests/hsee/hsee2.html.