Class of 2006 ahead on state test mandates Class of 2006 ahead on state test mandates (January 13, 2006)

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell has made the tough, but right decision to finally require California high school seniors to pass a long-mandated but not yet enforced exit exam in reading and math before receiving their diplomas. His ruling, which applies to the current Class of 2006 that will graduate in just six months, ends several years of bickering and delay since the state Legislature adopted the graduation standards that were supposed to take effect two years ago. While some believe the requirements are unfair to students unable to speak English fluently, or sufficiently to pass the exam, and to handicapped students with learning disabilities that may prevent them from ever passing the test, O'Connell, with the support of almost all school district superintendents throughout the state, believes it's time to enforce the standards that the vast majority of graduating students can master.

Certainly Pleasanton is ready. As of this week, only 22 students district-wide out of 1,118 seniors have not yet passed the exit exam. With two more test dates scheduled--Feb. 7-8 and May 9-10--it's expected that number will be reduced substantially to what educators hope will be as close to a 100 percent pass rate as possible. For those 22 students, the February tests will provide the last chance to walk with their class across the stage on graduation day to receive their diplomas; the results of the May tests will not be known in time to meet the deadline. Yet even at 22, a 2 percent failure rate is remarkable when compared with other districts in a state where as many as 50,000 students won't pass the exam by the end of the school year, according to official estimates. In Pleasanton, all of those at Amador Valley High School who have yet to pass the test are "English Language Learners"--meaning they have insufficient proficiencies in English language reading and comprehension skills to qualify. Most, though, have passed the mathematics section of the two-part test. At Foothill High, those who have failed are mostly new enrollees who have moved here from other states where they have not had the advanced test preparation that Pleasanton provides. At Village High, most of those who have not yet passed the tests are "special education" students who have tried, but not passed.

Those deserving special praise for leading the effort to put the statewide exit exam requirements in place and to make sure Pleasanton students pass it include Supt. John Casey and his staff and, most notably, James Cengiz Gulek, Director of Assessment and Evaluation, and Dianne Howell, formerly the principal at Village High who has been named to the district's new position of Director of Secondary Education. With California high schools now ranked by the Fordham Foundation as among the very best, including only one of eight states that recently achieved Fordham's "A" grade in meeting its national science standards, Casey and this team believe that passing the state exit exam demonstrates to colleges and employers that Pleasanton high school graduates meet these standards. The school district also deserves praise for its work in preparing both students and their parents for the all-important exit exam early on. Report cards starting in elementary school show how students are doing in meeting state standards set for their grades. The exit exam's math questions include algebra, which is now taught in the 8th grade. In March, this year's sophomores will take the exam for the first time, with more exams given in their junior year for those who don't pass the first time around, and at least three chances their senior year. Already, 93 percent of this year's junior class, the Class of 2007, has passed the exam, putting Pleasanton schools again at the forefront of academic achievement in our state.

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