Students file suit challenging exit exam requirement for graduation
A group of California high school students and their parents has filed suit in state court challenging California's requirement that students must pass an exit exam in order to graduate. The suit names the California State Board of Education and Superintendent of Public Instruction as defendants in a suit that seeks an injunction that will suspend the consequences of the mandatory exam. "For the very first time we are telling kids they do not get a diploma unless they pass an exit exam," says attorney Arturo J. Gonzalez, who is representing the students and parents. "We think that is unfair, we think it's unwise and we think it is illegal." This year's class of seniors is the first in California to face the new graduation requirement. While state officials say the number of seniors who are in jeopardy of not graduating because of the test is unknown, an independent study conducted in the fall of 2005 estimated that about 100,000 12th graders, approximately 20% of the state total, had not yet passed one or both sections of the test. The study predicted that 50,000 of those students would fall short of the requirement. California's Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell defends the test, saying it is needed to gauge student achievement. He insists that "[i]t is a disservice to hand kids a diploma when those students are not prepared for the higher-level skills that are now required." He adds, "I am not for a high school exit exam to be mean. It is a question of getting these students ready for the future." Mr. O'Connell also states that he believes that fewer than 10% of seniors this year will fail to pass the test. Mr. Gonzales says that he intends to argue that poor, minority students, who are English learners, are at greater risk of harm from the exam because the schools have not properly prepared them for the exam and the state provides no alternatives to the exam.
Los Angeles TimesBy Joel Rubin
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