California Exit Exam Boosts High School Dropouts
The same year that California high school students were required to pass an exit exam to graduate, high school dropouts spiked, according to an AP/Los Angeles Times article. One of the original goals of the exit exam, often referred to as CAHSEE, was to boost performance of California’s high school students. An unintended consequence is that students who cannot pass the exam after repeating it several times may be dropping out of school.
The key issue this brings up is effective instruction or intervention for at risk high school students. A test alone does not make student performance increase. Schools need to provide effective instruction for 9th graders at risk to fail CAHSEE or 10th graders who fail on their first attempt. While schools may be having success with “bubble” students just below the threshold of passing, the “far below basic” students are failing repeatedly.
It is our hope that new approaches to intervention for students failing CAHSEE are put into place, to prevent further dropouts. This includes high interest online courses targeting at risk youth, such as Comprehension Upgrade and Math Upgrade.