Exit exam

Sacramento Bee 4/21/07

State schools chief Jack O'Connell reported two pieces of good news this week about the state's high school exit exam.

First, the percentage of students in the class of 2007 who have already passed the test is higher than it was at this point last year for the class of 2006.

More students in every subgroup, including minorities, poor children and students for whom English is a second language, are passing the exam. In all, 91.4 percent of California seniors have already cleared the hurdle and are poised to claim their diplomas in June.

Second, and perhaps more significantly, about half of the students in the class of 2006 who had not passed the test by graduation time last year have returned to school to try to learn the math and language skills needed to succeed so that they can earn a diploma.

According to an independent study, about 17,000 students, or about 45 percent of those who failed the exam, have returned to school even though they have completed their senior years. About 85 percent of those students are back in high school, while about 15 percent are attending adult school.

Critics feared a high school exit exam would discourage struggling students and lead to more dropouts. These numbers suggest the critics might have had it backward. At least for this large group of students, the test appears to have motivated them to stay in school longer. One wonders what they would be doing had the schools simply handed them diplomas last spring even though they had not yet demonstrated even a basic understanding of the math and language skills necessary to go to college or function in the world of work.

This is only the latest evidence that shows the exit exam probably means the most to students from disadvantaged backgrounds who have too rarely been challenged to grow to their full potential. Under the glare of a statewide spotlight that only a standardized score can provide, the schools have rushed to provide extra tutoring, counseling and classes for students at risk of failing.

Yes, the schools should have been doing this all along. But they weren't. And now they are. That's probably one reason the exit exam is so popular with parents and the broader community, even if the education establishment has not completely embraced it.