High School Exit Test Delayed; Class of ’05 to Be First
The state Senate education committee has voted to postpone the high school exit exam by a year, saying California’s test is not yet reliable enough to withstand legal challenges.
With the postponement, the class of 2005 would be the first that would have to pass the exam to receive diplomas.
For the record:
12:00 a.m. Feb. 3, 2001 For the Record
Los Angeles Times Saturday February 3, 2001 Home Edition Part A Part A Page 5 Foreign Desk 2 inches; 41 words Type of Material: Correction
Exit exams--A headline on a story in Thursday’s Times incorrectly implied that postponement of the first California high school exit exam to 2005 was final. It was approved by the state Senate education committee as an amendment to a bill that must still go before the full Senate and the Assembly.
The postponement was proposed by Sen. John Vasconcellos (D-Santa Clara), the new head of the Senate education committee, as an amendment to emergency legislation that Gov. Gray Davis requested to make other changes to the high school exit exam program.
Davis has stated forcefully that he wants the exit exam in place for this year’s ninth-graders, who will graduate in 2004. But an analysis of field test results showed that a high percentage of students would flunk the test, which is geared to California’s rigorous new academic standards.
Kerry Mazzoni, Davis’ education secretary, said, “This is an amendment that we resist. They [the Senate] forced this on us against our will. . . . The 2004 date is still doable.” The committee’s vote was 12-0, with Sen. Jack O’Connell (D-San Luis Obispo) abstaining.
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