By Sara Ballenger
The Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District was pleased with its performance on the first California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE). Delaine Eastin, superintendent of public instruction, released the statewide results Oct. 3.
This year’s test scores were compiled from freshmen who took the test on a volunteer basis last March and May.
“I am pleased with the results of the kids who did take it,” said Rich Fischer, superintendent. “Most of them passed, and we learned things we needed to learn about the test.”
While this year test taking was optional, next year it will be mandatory. State law requires that each student in the public school system pass the CAHSEE to earn a high school diploma, beginning with the class of 2004, according to a California Department of Education press release.
“Students can take it throughout their high school career, but they must pass it to graduate,” Fischer said. “It is a standards-based test which measures the students’ knowledge of the standards.”
The test is divided into two parts, an English-language arts section and a mathematics section. It is written at the 10th-grade level, even though the first students to take it were ninth-graders. “It started with that class because that is the first class that would need it to graduate,” Fisher said. “Since they are the first class to take it, they will also have more chances to pass it.”
Students have to score at least 60 percent on the English-language arts section and 55 percent on the mathematics section to pass, according to the California Department of Education.
The state reported that 90 percent of all freshmen in the state took the exam and 45 percent passed.
“It will be more interesting to compare this year’s scores with the scores of students who have to take it next year and see how it compares,” said George Perez, principal of Los Altos High School.
Mountain View High School Principal Pat Hyland agreed. “I am hopeful that once all of our students begin taking the test our performance will remain exceptionally high,” Hyland said.
Even though the CAHSEE is still in the beginning stages, it can be a valuable learning tool, said Fischer.
“We will get enough information from the results that we will meet with teachers and begin providing the necessary tutoring for students,” he said. “Kids who are not successful need to be given the opportunity to take tutorials and classes. This is serious stuff if you need it to graduate.”
Fischer said that with the increase in the number of tests students are required to take, it is important to focus teaching and to provide students with the skills needed to take tests.
“We have hours and hours of testing now, and students are losing a lot of class time,” he said. “Nobody learns anything from a test. Students need to learn skills in class from teachers.”
For more information, logon to cahsee.cde.ca.gov.
