Schools

Santa Cruz City Students Fare Well in State Exit Exam

Results from the California High School Exit Examination indicate that 87 percent of sophomores within the Santa Cruz City School District passed the math portion of the test, with 88 percent passing the English-language portion.

The majority of sophomores from Santa Cruz City Schools passed the California High School Exit Examination for the 2010–11 school year, according to test results from the California Department of Education released Wednesday.

The CAHSEE tests students on their math and English-language skills, and is a requirement for all Californian public school students, who must pass the test in order to accommodate graduation requirements and receive their high-school diploma.

According to the results, 87 percent of sophomores within the Santa Cruz City School District passed the math portion of the test, with 88 percent passing the English-language portion.

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The test also weighs results between students coming from economically disadvantaged backgrounds with those who don't.

Not surprisingly, students coming from a disadvantaged background had a lower pass rate than non-disadvantaged students, with 79 percent passing the math portion contrasted with 91 percent of non-disadvantaged students. The gap was even larger for the English portion of the test, with 75 percent of disadvantaged students passing compared to 95 percent of non-disadvantaged students.

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Students with disabilities were also required to take the CAHSEE, although they're exempted from passing the test as a graduation requirement. Instead, students with disabilities are required to take the exam to fulfill requirements of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

Special education students within the district passed the math portion of the test with a 48 percent pass rate, compared with a 52 percent pass rate for the English portion.

English learner students did better on the math portion of the test, with 51 percent of sophomore students passing the math part and 35 percent passing the English-language section.

Interestingly, students who were reclassified as proficient in English did good on both portions of the test, with 93 percent of students passing the math section and 88 percent passing the English part.

Here's a breakdown of sophomore test results from the Santa Cruz City School district, which include and Delta Charter High School in Aptos.  


Tested in Math Passed Math Tested in English Passed English All Students 855 745 850
750 Economically Disadvantaged Students 280 222 282 211 Non-Economically Disadvantaged Students 541 493 534 506 Special Education Students 86 41 86 45 English Learner Students 69 35 69 24 Reclassified Fluent, English Proficient Students 122 113 122 107

In total, Santa Cruz City School students did better than the county in whole. County-wide results indicate a 83 percent pass rate for the math portion of the test and 82 percent for the English part.

County-wide figures for economically disadvantaged students indicate a 74 percent pass rate in math with a 69 percent pass rate in English.

Special education results show a 44 percent pass rate in math and 41 percent in English.

English-learner students had a 49 percent pass rate for the math potion of the test and a 36 percent success rate in the English portion and students who were reclassified as proficient in English had a 91 percent pass rate in math, compared to 90 percent in English.

State law requires that students first take the exit exam in 10th grade, although those who fail the test have additional opportunities to take it again as juniors and seniors.

CAHSEE results for the 2010-2011 school year are available at the school, district, county and state levels and include tests given in the months of July, October, November and December of 2010 through February, March and May of 2011.

For more specific information, refer to the California Department of Education's CAHSEE results page.


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