Exit Exam Hearing Scheduled for July

A California appeals court will not hear arguments over the state’s controversial high school exit exam until July 25, ending any chance that students who have failed the test will earn a diploma this school year.

On Friday, justices for the 1st District Court of Appeal denied a last-ditch request for an earlier hearing sought by the lawyer fighting the testing requirement.

The midsummer date will come long after high school graduation ceremonies.

“This is a most welcome decision,” state Supt. of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell said.

“School districts ... should proceed with graduation exercises as planned before the exit exam was challenged in court,” he added.

The Class of 2006 is the first to be required to pass the English and math exam, which proponents say is a needed gauge of whether graduates have a basic level of knowledge.

The two-part exam includes eighth-grade math and ninth- and 10th-grade English. Students must answer more than half of the questions correctly and can take the test multiple times beginning in their sophomore year.

Earlier this week, a divided state Supreme Court reinstated the exam after a lower court struck it down on the grounds that it posed an unfair hurdle for poor and minority students in subpar schools.

Of the nearly 47,000 seniors who have not yet passed the exam, 20,600 are designated as English learners and 28,300 are from poor families.

The high court ordered the appeals court to render a decision on whether the state can require the exam.

Students who failed the test had held out hope that justices would agree to hear the case before the awarding of diplomas in coming weeks.

It is uncertain whether those students will be able to receive diplomas if the exit exam is thrown out by the appeals court.

Also unclear is how many students statewide will ultimately not get a diploma this school year because of the exit exam requirement. Some are awaiting results after taking the test a final time, and others will fail to graduate for other reasons.