June 29, 2007

Exit exam keeping 394 students from graduating
In Orange County, 394 students are stuck in a post-high school limbo, having flunked the state's exit exam this spring.
By FERMIN LEAL
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

At least 394 seniors in Orange County failed to earn a diploma this spring only because they couldn't pass the state's high school exit exam.

These students passed every necessary class and met all other graduation requirements. This is the second year the state has required seniors to pass the test in order to receive diplomas.

Nine districts – including Santa Ana Unified, Orange Unified and Anaheim Union – allowed 243 of these students to participate in graduation ceremonies and offered them certificates of completion, diploma-like documents that show a student has passed the required high school courses.

The exit exam measures aptitude in 10th-grade English and eighth-grade algebra. It was intended to ensure students graduate from high school with basic skills.

Last year, about 460 seniors missed out on a diploma only because they failed the test.

Natalie Fuentes, a student from Century High in Santa Ana, finished high school this month with a 3.5 GPA and an acceptance letter to Cal State Fullerton.

But the 18-year-old didn't receive a diploma because she failed the math portion of the test five consecutive times.
Fuentes said she has difficulty with standardized testing. She failed her last math test by one question, she said.

"It was such a disappointment," Fuentes said. "I didn't think I would be able to walk with all my friends during graduation."

Officials in Santa Ana Unified decided last month to allow Fuentes and 117 other seniors who failed the test but met all other requirements to walk with their graduating class because results for students who took the test in May were not going to be available by graduation.

Other districts that offered certificates of completion said they will replace them with diplomas if it turns out students who took the test this spring passed. Spring exit exam results should be released later this summer.

Newport-Mesa Unified, Irvine Unified and Garden Grove Unified declined to offer certificates of completion, and didn't allow students to partake in graduation ceremonies unless they passed the test.

"We offered several interventions to help students pass," said Peggy Anatol, Newport-Mesa's director of curriculum and assessment.

The district provided before- and after-school test prep classes, as well as an exit exam "boot camp" in the summer and on weekends. The district had one of the lowest number of students in the county, 12, who met all graduation requirements but failed the exit exam.

Some high school counselors are encouraging seniors who failed the test to enroll in community colleges, which don't require high school diplomas, then transfer to four-year schools after they have accumulated enough college credits.

Officials from the California State University and University of California systems have said that there is an expectation that incoming freshmen have high school diplomas. But those who don't are reviewed on a case-by-case basis, they said.

Fuentes said she expects to pass the test and have her diploma in hand before she starts at Cal State Fullerton this fall.

"My family is so proud of me," she said. "All I know is that one test alone won't define who I am."

Staff writer Sam Miller contributed to this report.