The state schools chief canceled July's High School Exit Exam and announced Friday that he would recommend that the state Board of Education delay requiring students to pass the test until 2006.
As of now, students beginning with the Class of 2004 must pass the two-part test in order to receive a high school diploma. Critics charge that the test is "one size fits all" and doesn't reflect the obstacles faced by low-income students, English learners and the disabled, among others.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell said he believes that the board will vote to postpone the graduation requirement at its July meeting, and is canceling the summer test date in part to relieve the scheduling burden for schools and save them money in the process.

"Last year, schools ordered 166,000 tests for the July administration and only 46,000 students were tested," he said.

If the board does vote to postpone the test requirement, O'Connell said, he will cancel the September and November test dates as well.

O'Connell's recommendation follows a study released last month that said while the test is valid for use as a graduation requirement, many members of the Class of 2004 would likely fail the test because poor schooling made them inadequately prepared.

The report said that recent implementation of standards-based instruction and curricula indicates that the Class of 2005 and beyond will gain the most benefit from the new instruction and the subsequent exit exam.

So far, 48 percent of the Class of 2004 has passed the test, which was first given in 2001. The tests were administered again in March and those results will be available later this year.

Reed Hastings, president of the state Board of Education, said O'Connell's recommendation is appreciated "and the state board will consider it fully at the July meeting."

Local educators reacted favorably to the proposed postponement.

"Delaying the exit exam is the right thing to do given the study reports and input from school districts," said General Davie Jr., superintendent of the 50,000-student San Juan Unified School District. "I am pleased that State Superintendent O'Connell is moving toward making (the exit exam) less of a time drain for our high schools and a financial drain on our district."

Others remain critical of the exit exam, regardless of when it takes effect.

A group representing minorities charges that students of color, low-income students and English learners in California are less likely to be taught by the best teachers, to have proper textbooks and to be offered a rigorous curriculum.

"A delay of a few years is inadequate to address the inequalities in the schools," said Mike Chavez, spokesman for Californians for Justice, a group that has demonstrated against the exam. "It is unfair to deny diplomas to students until every student has a fair opportunity to learn the curriculum for the exit exam but also to get a quality education."

That, they allege, is the reason that minority students taking the test, which measures math and English skills, had such high failure rates.

"It shows that those students are getting the lowest quality education," said Chavez. "It makes sense that they would have more trouble passing the test."

Disability Rights Inc. in Oakland said the results so far are terrible for disabled students. The group is suing the state over the test, because the organization believes it is fundamentally defective and is being rushed into place with no time to prepare students. Also, the group says, the test is ill-suited to the different needs of disabled students.

Amy Petre Hill, an attorney with Disability Rights, said the postponement by O'Connell is a good move, and the fair and right decision for disabled students.

"There has been a lot of harm caused to special education students by this exam," said Hill. "It has caused a lot of stress. Some students have left the state to get a high school diploma. They had to leave family and friends. At great cost to families, students have been enrolled in private school to get a diploma."

Disability Rights believes that the state is entitled to test students, Hill said, but that when the exam has such high stakes it must be fair.

Students were bemused and expressed some frustration regarding Friday's developments.

"I passed it the first time and didn't have to retake it, so it's not that big a deal," said Sara Anderson, an incoming Sacramento High School senior and a member of the Class of 2004. "But it was kind of a pain in the butt in addition to taking the SATs. I hate standardized tests."

O'Connell said in a letter to the state's county and district superintendents that he plans to convene a committee that will examine ways to reduce the length of the test.

Anderson said O'Connell's reasons for recommending a postponement "make sense."

"But they could have figured that out a while ago instead of now," she said. "Since freshman year, they've been telling us we need to pass this test in order to graduate. Now, three years later, they're changing their mind."