More are passing CAHSEE, but some lag behind

Although more students are passing the California High School Exit Exam—with African American and Hispanic students making the biggest gains—the achievement gap between whites and Asians and other ethnic subgroups continues to trouble educators.

During an Aug. 23 press conference called to announce the latest CAHSEE numbers, Superintendent of Instruction Jack O’Connell said that more than 93 percent of the class of 2007 had passed the exam by May; that’s a pass rate 2.1 percent higher than the class of 2006 had managed at the same time last year.

Students in every demographic subgroup of the class of 2007 passed the exam at higher rates than 2006 seniors. African American students improved most, boosting their pass rate by 4.7 percent—from 83.7 percent to 88.4 percent. Hispanics improved their pass rate to 88.6 percent—up 3.1 percent from 2006. Despite these improvements, the pass rates for these ethnic subgroups of students continue to be significantly lower than those achieved by whites (98.4 percent in 2007) and Asian students (96.3 percent).

“I applaud this progress and give great credit to the students, teachers, parents and administrators who are working so hard to help students master the skills measured by the exit exam,” O’Connell said. “However, I continue to be troubled by the achievement gap that continues to exist between students who are African American or Latino/Hispanic and their peers who are white and Asian.”

O’Connell has made it a priority to find strategies to reach and inspire struggling students.  Helping underachieving students, he warned, requires all those involved to have “difficult conversations” about issues like race and poverty. “We cannot afford the achievement gap—morally, socially or economically,” he said.

O’Connell has reorganized the state Department of Education to emphasize this work and asked his P-16 Council—of which CSBA Executive Director Scott P. Plotkin is a member—to focus on disparities in achievement between different ethnic student subgroups. He has also scheduled an “Achievement Gap Summit” on the issue in Sacramento Nov. 13-14.

CAHSEE is here to stay

Seniors in the class of 2006 were the first students required to pass the math and English language arts portions of the exam in order to receive a high school diploma.

O’Connell, who authored the legislation establishing the exam requirement, said he is gratified that the CAHSEE has withstood a number of political and legal challenges—the most recent lawsuit by test opponents was just settled this month. The settlement, which is codified in Assembly Bill 347 by Pedro Nava, D-Santa Barbara, allocates $500 per student in the 2007-08 budget to provide additional remedial support for students who are struggling to pass the exam. Most districts are already providing extensive tutoring for these students.

 “What a difference a year makes,” O’Connell said, adding that the once-controversial test is now a fact of life for California high school students. “I like to call it the capstone” of California’s accountability and testing system, he said.
CSBA and other members of the Education Coalition are supporting AB 1379 by Julia Brownley, D-Santa Monica, that would expand the exam requirement to permit alternative measures of student achievement. The governor vetoed similar legislation in 2005.

The numbers released this week are only estimates, and they do not include scores from students who took the exam in July. A full analysis and more complete numbers compiled by the Human Resources Research Organization are due out this fall as required by state law.

Related link:
The complete state CAHSEE report is available @ www.cde.ca.gov/nr/ne/yr07/yr07rel107.asp