Exit Exam Is Postponed

SACRAMENTO -- The California Board of Education on Wednesday voted unanimously to postpone the state’s high school exit exam for two years, citing concerns about low passage rates and a desire to give struggling students a better opportunity to learn material on the test.

The graduation requirement, an important part of Gov. Gray Davis’ education reforms, was scheduled to take effect for the Class of 2004. But the state board, as expected, pushed it back to the Class of 2006; next year’s sophomores now will be the first students who must pass the test of English and math skills to earn their diplomas.

The action was celebrated by teenagers across the state, but also questioned by some educators who said the delay would send a bad signal to young people.

The board voted 9-0 for the two-year delay even though some originally favored a three-year postponement. The panel also cut the amount of English material on the test, but pledged that the overall level of difficulty would not be reduced and that the exam would not be abandoned later.

The test is geared to just a ninth-grade level in math and a 10th-grade level in English.

“A two-year delay provides a fair opportunity for students and keeps the pressure on the system to improve instruction for those who need it most,” board President Reed Hastings said in an interview.

About 200 students, parents and education activists from around the state converged on the board meeting and called on officials to delay the exam indefinitely. The protesters, from a group called Californians for Justice, said many low-income students are at a disadvantage because they lack adequate textbooks and attend overcrowded campuses with disproportionate numbers of uncredentialed teachers.

“The resources for learning simply are not in place. Don’t deny diplomas for a test you haven’t properly prepared us for in the first place,” 15-year-old Erica Thomas of Polytechnic High School in Long Beach told the board.

State officials said they were prompted to delay enforcement of the exam because of the disappointing results so far.

Just 44% of students in the Class of 2004 passed the math section on their first try, as did 64% on the English-language arts part. A recent study of the exam determined that, even after successive attempts, about 20% of the Class of 2004 would still fail to pass both parts of the exam by next year.

Board members said they expected the passing rate to rise as teachers better integrate the state’s new academic standards in classrooms. They said they were heartened by more recent data that showed promising results among younger students: 60% of the Class of 2005 passed the math section on their first attempt, and 79% passed English-language arts on their initial try.

“As schools continue to focus sharply on aligning courses to California’s standards, more and more students will pass this test,” said Kerry Mazzoni, the state secretary for education. “A two-year delay in the exam’s consequences will give schools extra time to focus on the standards we expect them to meet.”

The board faced other pressures. A nearly identical bill, calling for a two-year delay in the exam, has been approved by the state Assembly and was under consideration in the Senate. Two lawsuits have been seeking testing accommodations for disabled students and a delay.

State Supt. of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell said three remaining exit exam administrations this year -- in July, September and November -- would be canceled. The next round of exams would be given early in 2004, he said.

“It simply makes sense to me to step back for a moment and delay the consequences of this exam,” O’Connell said.

The test of multiple-choice questions and essays covers such English standards as reading comprehension, word analysis, writing structure and grammar; math concepts include fractions, probability, linear equations and basic geometry. Students had been required to take it first in 10th grade, starting with the Class of 2004.

The state board moved Wednesday to reduce the number of multiple choice questions in English arts from 82 to 72 and to eliminate one of the two essays. That will mean the test can be offered over two days instead of the current three.

The state board had considered watering down the passing mark in math, but abandoned that idea in favor of the postponement.

California joins other states backing away from their high school exit exams. Arizona and Alaska, for example, have postponed their tests.

One expert who helped design the California exam said that the Davis administration should not have pushed for 2004 and that the delay could undermine the test’s credibility in the eyes of teachers and students. “Once you don’t carry through on a threat, there’s uncertainty over it,” said Mike Kirst, former president of the state education board. “It’ll make people wonder whether they mean it next time.”

Kirst, a professor of education at Stanford University, said the delay would not ensure students would be more prepared or that the threat of lawsuits would end.

Still, some teens celebrated. For example, Jasmine Villa, a senior at Hueneme High School in Ventura County, had passed the math section, but not the English. She squealed with joy at the news that the test would not stand between her and graduation.

“I was afraid I was going to get all my credits, but not pass the exit exam,” she said. “The test was pretty hard. It was things that I haven’t even learned.”

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Times staff writer Errin Haines contributed to this report.