Schools Chief Jack O'Connell Releases 2006-07
California High School Exit Exam Results

SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today released the results for the 2006-07 California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE) showing that the estimated percentage of students meeting the CAHSEE requirement as of May for the Class of 2007 was 93.3 percent, a 2.1 percent increase over the Class of 2006 at the same point in time.

This improvement in students meeting the CAHSEE requirement is reflected in all of the major demographic categories (or subgroups) of twelfth grade students. African American students made the largest gain of 4.7 percent, followed by Hispanic/Latino students at 3.1 percent. Economically disadvantaged students passing rate increased by 2.6 percent. (See Table 1.)

"I am pleased that our seniors, and, in particular, all of the major subgroups, made positive gains in achieving this significant milestone," O'Connell said. "Their success at passing the test confirms they have acquired the fundamental skills and knowledge that every California high school graduate must have in order to compete in today's workforce.

"I applaud this progress and give great credit to the students, teachers, parents and administrators who are working so hard to help students master the skills measured by the exit exam. However, I continue to be troubled by the achievement gap, as indicated by our first-time test takers, that continues to exist between students who are African American or Hispanic/Latino and their peers who are white or Asian," O'Connell said. “Furthermore, I am greatly concerned that our tenth grade English Learners are the only subgroup to experience a decline in the number of students passing the English-language arts (ELA) and math portions." (See Tables 2 and 3.)

"The data we are releasing today, like the results of our STAR program released last week, tells us that we still need to find ways to better prepare all students to pass the CAHSEE so they will be better prepared for life after high school, whether they are headed to college or directly into a career. We must be diligent and steadfast in our commitment to close the achievement gap not only for our students’ future success, but also for California’s future success."

As illustrated in the results on standards-based tests for students in grades two through eleven, the achievement gap remains and economic factors are just part of the story. The data show that even when you account for poverty, a greater percentage of poor white students are passing the English-language arts (ELA) portion of the exit exam than African American students who are not poor. (See Tables 4 and 5.)

The same holds true in math when comparing the results of white students who are economically disadvantaged to African American or Latino students who are not classified as poor. For example, not economically disadvantaged African American sophomores in the Class of 2009 as first-time test takers were 4.0 percentage points higher than the same subgroup of first-time test takers in the Class of 2006. Still, this increase to 65.3 percent for the math portion of the CAHSEE, is nearly 9 points below the passing rate of their economically disadvantaged white peers. (See Tables 6 and 7.)

On the positive side, Hispanic/Latino and African American sophomore students are showing significant percentage gains in ELA passing rates for first-time test takers over the past four years regardless of their economic status. (See Tables 2 and 3.)

For example, in ELA, Hispanic/Latino sophomores in the Class of 2009 as first-time test takers were 4.5 percentage points higher than the same subgroup of first-time test takers in the Class of 2006. (See Table 2.)

Among African American students, the percentage of sophomores in the Class of 2006 passing the ELA portion of the test was 62.6 percent. The latest results show 65.7 percent of African American sophomores in the Class of 2009 passed the ELA — a 3.1 percent increase over the past four years. (See Table 2.)

The estimated passing rates in ELA for all first-time test takers in 2007 (sophomores in the Class of 2009) show some improvement — 74.7 percent to 76.5 percent — a 1.8 percent increase over the past four years. (See Table 2.)

For the math portion of the CAHSEE over this same period for first-time test takers, the estimated passing rate improved from 73.7 percent (when students in the Class of 2006 were sophomores) to 75.8 percent (for sophomores in the Class of 2009). (See Table 3.)

The CAHSEE is only one of the many requirements in California public schools needed for graduation. School districts also impose local requirements that must be met before students are allowed to graduate.

Students are required to take the CAHSEE for the first time in the tenth grade. Nearly 480,000 sophomores took the CAHSEE during the 2006-07 school year. Students who do not pass the test as tenth graders are given two more opportunities as juniors, and if they are not successful then, three more as seniors, and an additional opportunity during a summer administration.

The data released today does not include results from the July administration of the test and the California Department of Education (CDE) does not yet have the benefit of a complete analysis of the data by the Human Resources Research Organization (HumRRO), its independent evaluator of the CAHSEE program. HumRRO’s analysis, expected in late fall, will give a more up-to-date picture of how California students are doing in meeting the cumulative exit exam requirement in both English and mathematics. Additionally, it should be noted that while the CDE has estimated the number of eleventh graders who have yet to pass the CAHSEE based on currently available data (See Tables 8 and 9.), the number is likely to change based on HumRRO’s comprehensive analysis of the data.

School, district, county, and state-level results for the CAHSEE have been posted on the CDE Web site at http://cahsee.cde.ca.gov.

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Attachments

California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE)

Summary of 2006-07 Test Results

Background

• State law authorized the development of the California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE), which students in California public schools would have to pass to earn a high school diploma.
• The CAHSEE is designed to ensure that all high school graduates have achieved a solid foundation of knowledge and skills in English-language arts and mathematic, based on state-adopted content standards.
• Current law specifies that all public high school students must take the CAHSEE for the first time in grade ten. Students who do not pass the CAHSEE in grade ten will have two opportunities in grade eleven and three opportunities in grade twelve to pass the exam.
• Exemptions for special education students in the class of 2007 will sunset December 31,2007.

Summary of CAHSEE Results

• A summary of statewide student performance on the CAHSEE is provided below. Note that while final data are available for years 2004 through 2006, the results reported for 2007 are preliminary. In the late fall, the CAHSEE independent evaluator, Human Resources Research Organization (HumRRO), will provide the CAHSEE results by grade in its annual report. According to preliminary analysis from HumRRO, approximately 29,000 students from the class of 2007 have yet to pass the CAHSEE. This estimate does not include students who are repeating grade twelve. HumRRO estimates 1,500 repeat grade twelve students have yet to pass the CAHSEE.

Estimated Cumulative Percentage of Grade 12 Students in the Classes of 2006 and 2007 Meeting the CAHSEE Requirement through May 2006 and 2007 by Subgroup (Table 1)

• The overall passing rate as of May, 2007 for the class of 2007 was 93.3 percent. This is 2.1 percentage points higher than for the class of 2006 in May of 2006 (see Table 1).
• The improvement in overall passing rates for the class of 2007 compared to the class of 2006 is reflected in all of the major reporting subgroups. Notably, the largest gains were for African American or black students (4.7 percent), and Hispanic or Latino students (3.1 percent). Economically disadvantaged students passing rate increased by 2.6 percent.

Comparison of Passing Rates for First-Time Test Takers (Grade ten) in ELA and Mathematics (Tables 2 and 3)

• Passing rates in both English-language arts (ELA) and mathematics for first-time test takers in 2007 (class of 2009) show some improvement as compared to 2004 (class of 2006) (see Tables 2 and 3).
• The passing rate on the ELA portion of the CAHSEE for grade ten students in 2007 (class of 2009) was 76.5 percent. This was a fairly small improvement from the results for grade ten students in 2004 (class of 2006) whose passing rate was 74.7 percent. (See Table 2.)
• ELA Passing rates for grade ten students in 2007 (class of 2009) for the major reporting subgroups have shown some improvement ranging from increases of 1 percent to 4.6 percent when compared to grade ten students in 2004 (class of 2006). The only decline was for students classified as English learners, which fell by 3.2 percent. (See Table 2.)
• For the mathematics portion of the CAHSEE the passing rate in 2007 (class of 2009) for first-time test takers was 75.8 percent, a 2.1 percent increase over the results for first-time test takers in the class of 2006. (See Table 3.)
• Changes from 2004 (class of 2006) to 2007 (class of 2009) in the mathematics passing rates for subgroups of grade ten students ranged from a drop of 2.6 percent for English learners to an increase of 4.7 percent for Hispanic or Latino students. (See Table 3.)

Comparison of Percentages of Economically Disadvantaged and Not Economically Disadvantaged Students Passing the ELA and Mathematics by Ethnicity (Tables 4 through 7)

• The economically disadvantaged students by ethnicity data displayed in Table 4 for ELA have generally shown greater increases from class of 2006 to class of 2009 in passing rates than their not economically disadvantaged cohorts displayed in Table 5.
• With the exception of American Indian or Alaskan Native subgroup, the economically disadvantaged students by ethnicity data displayed in Table 6 for mathematics have generally shown greater increases from class of 2006 to class of 2009 in passing rates than their not economically disadvantaged cohorts displayed in Table 7.
• The Pacific Islander, Hispanic or Latino, and African American or black subgroups have shown the greatest percent gain in ELA passing rates over the past four years regardless of economic status. (See Tables 4 and 5.)
• The Pacific Islander, Hispanic or Latino, and African American or black subgroups who are economically disadvantaged have shown over a 5 percent gain in mathematics passing rates over the past four years. (See Tables 6 and 7.)

Number of Grade Eleven Students in the Class of 2008 Yet to Pass in ELA and Mathematics (Tables 8 and 9)

• Approximately 80 percent of the grade eleven students (class of 2008) that have yet to pass the ELA portion are economically disadvantaged.
• Approximately 74 percent of the grade eleven students (class of 2008) that have yet to pass the mathematics portion are economically disadvantaged.
• Approximately 62 percent of the grade eleven students (class of 2008) that have yet to pass the ELA portion are English learners.
• Approximately 44 percent of the grade eleven students (class of 2008) that have yet to pass the mathematics portion are English learners.

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California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE) Results

Table 1:

Estimated Cumulative Percentage of Grade 12 Students in the Classes of 2006 and 2007 Meeting the CAHSEE Requirement through May 2006 and 2007 by Subgroup‡

Estimated Number and Percentage of Students in the Class of 2007
Meeting the CAHSEE Requirement through February 2007

‡ The denominator for calculating the passing rates are calculated by adding the students who passed CAHSEE in grades 10, 11, and 12 and those students who are still attempting to pass the CAHSEE in grade 12. See HumRRO Year 7 reference for further explanation.

* Source: HumRRO Year 7 Annual Report (2005-06) Table 2.12, page 31 - http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/hs/documents/indevalrptv106.pdf (PDF; 4450KB; 210pp.)

** Source: HumRRO; students identified as 12th grade students from the class of 2006 were excluded from the 2007 calculation.

*** Students in special education programs who had not passed the CAHSEE were excluded from all rows of the table except the last row. Students in special education who had not passed the CAHSEE were allowed to meet the CAHSEE requirement in other ways.

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English Language Arts

Table 2:

Comparison of Passing Rates for First-Time Test Takers (Grade 10)
in the Classes of 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009‡

‡ Percent passing rates equals the number of students passing CAHSEE divided by number of students taking CAHSEE.

* Subgroup data are estimates; school districts have the opportunity to make demographic data corrections.

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Mathematics

Table 3:

Comparison of Passing Rates for First-Time Test Takers (Grade 10)
in the Classes of 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009‡

‡ Percent passing rates equals the number of students passing CAHSEE divided by number of students taking CAHSEE.

* Subgroup data are estimates; school districts have the opportunity to make demographic data corrections.

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English-Language Arts

Table 4:

Comparison of Passing Rates for Economically Disadvantaged
First-Time Test Takers (Grade 10) by Ethnicity

* Subgroup data are estimates; school districts have the opportunity to make demographic data corrections.

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Table 5:

Comparison of Passing Rates for Not Economically Disadvantaged
First-Time Test Takers (Grade 10) by Ethnicity

* Subgroup data are estimates; school districts have the opportunity to make demographic data corrections.

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Mathematics

Table 6:

Comparison of Passing Rates for Economically Disadvantaged
First-Time Test Takers (Grade 10) by Ethnicity

* Subgroup data are estimates; school districts have the opportunity to make demographic data corrections.

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Table 7:

Comparison of Passing Rates for Not Economically Disadvantaged
First-Time Test Takers (Grade 10) by Ethnicity

* Subgroup data are estimates; school districts have the opportunity to make demographic data corrections.

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English-Language Arts

Table 8:

Estimated Number of Class of 2008 Students Yet to Pass (Grade 11)‡

‡ In the late fall HumRRO will provide CAHSEE results by grade in its annual report.

* Number tested in grade 10 is taken from DataQuest 2005-06 state tables.

** Grade 11 subgroup data are estimates; school districts have the opportunity to make demographic data corrections.

*** Grade 11 students yet to pass is an estimate; this estimate does not take into account students moving in or out of state, students changing grades, or students dropping out.

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Mathematics

Table 9:

Estimated Number of Class 2008 Students Yet to Pass (Grade 11)‡

‡ In the late fall HumRRO will provide CAHSEE results by grade in its annual report.

* Number tested in grade 10 is taken from DataQuest 2005-06 state tables.

** Grade 11 subgroup data are estimates; school districts have the opportunity to make demographic data corrections.

*** Grade 11 students yet to pass is an estimate; this estimate does not take into account students moving in or out of state, students changing grades, or students dropping out.

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