Date: October 11, 2006
California High School Exit Examination: Right of Students With Disabilities to Use Modifications
Title 5 California Code of Regulations, Section 1216, requires that students with disabilities, whether in grades 10, 11, or 12, “shall” be permitted to use modifications when taking the California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE), if their individualized education program (IEP) or 504 accommodation plan allows the use of modifications either on the CAHSEE or other standardized testing, or during classroom instruction or assessment. This is the case, even though the scores of grade 10 students who take the CAHSEE with a modification other than a calculator, Deleted 10/23/2007, do not currently count toward participation under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB).
A modification alters what the examination is measuring and affects the comparability of the scores (e.g., read-aloud of the English-language arts portion of the exam). Students who use modifications on the CAHSEE and receive the equivalent of a passing score, however, may receive a high school diploma if they satisfy all other state and local graduation requirements, and receive a waiver from their local school board, as set forth in California Education Code Section 60851(c).
An accommodation, on the other hand, does not alter what the CAHSEE measures or affect the comparability of examination scores (e.g., Braille transcription, extra time to complete the test, administration in a small group setting). Students who take the test with their allowed accommodations will meet the CAHSEE requirement if they receive a passing score.
Acceptable accommodations and modifications for the CAHSEE are outlined in the California Department of Education’s (CDE) "Matrix of Test Variations, Accommodations, and Modifications for Administration of California Statewide Assessments," available at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/hs/accmod.asp. CDE has also produced a question and answer sheet entitled, “Questions and Answers about the California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE) Test Variations,” that may be viewed at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/hs/documents/qandatestvar.pdf (PDF; 79KB; 2pp.; 20-Jul-2004) http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/hs/qandatestvar.asp Replaced 03/18/2008 .
If further information is required regarding this subject, you may contact the High School Exit Exam Office in the Standards and Assessment Division at (916) 445-9449 or the Assessment, Evaluation and Support Unit in the Special Education Division at (916) 323-7192.
Sincerely,
Original signed by Mary Hudler and Deb Sigman. Hard copy of the signed document is available by contacting the Special Education Division's Director's Office at (916) 445-4602.
Mary Hudler, Director
Special Education Division
Deb Sigman, Director
Standards and Assessment Division
1430 N Street
Sacramento, CA 95814