Education Trust--West
In the News
2006 Articles
Detailed report to spell out what's wrong with California schools
San Francisco Chronicle - Online (AP)
12/26/06- At the same time they are being asked to meet ever tougher state and federal standards, California's schools face long-standing, seemingly intractable problems. Among them Huge achievement gaps related to income and race, fewer teachers skilled in such areas as math and science, and a slew of complicated mandates to meet.
Mayors, Superintendents Meet, Discuss Change Strategies
U.S. Mayor
12/20/06- Mayors from six cities, along with a selected education leader from their city, participated in an invitational meeting November 16 in St. Louis to discuss strategies to improve graduation rates and the preparation for postsecondary education.
High (And Low) Expectations Racist Assumptions Widen Achievement Gap
New America Media
12/05/06- A few weeks ago, a New York Times article drew attention, again, to the state of the nation's black and Latino kids The gap in achievement 'between the races,' the article pronounced, has not decreased. The same exam given to a white student and a Latino or African-American student at the same grade level is yielding dismally disparate results.
Part II: Ed Trust Criticizes State’s Revised Teacher Equity Plan
California Education News
11/13/06- As the state makes strides to boost the CAHSEE pass rate, a major education watchdog organization – Education Trust-West (ETW) – has lobbed a new critical assessment on the State Department of Education’s plans to equitably distribute highly qualified teachers to low achieving schools.
California law changes the rules for bad teachers
The Heartland Institute School Reform News Publication
11/04/06- It can take years to fire a bad teacher. So some principals don't even bother trying. Instead, they make a deal. The principal asks the teacher to look for a job elsewhere in the district. In exchange, the teacher gets a good evaluation. Now here's the rub. Since there's plenty of competition for plum jobs at affluent schools, the bad teacher gets funneled to a struggling school serving a needy population.
Schools' standard getting tougher
The Tri-Valley Herald
10/16/06- Earlier this year, districts across the state received good news from an unlikely place - the federal government. Sequoia Union High School District, like Cupertino, Campbell and Sunnyvale, learned they had been removed from the federal delinquent list, a roster of schools targeted for improvement. They were joined in celebration by 26 other districts around the state.
Schools face steeper climb to reach federal standards
The San Jose Mercury News
10/12/06- Cupertino school district officials were ecstatic last month when they learned their district had come off the federal ''delinquent'' list. The same thing happened in Redwood City, Campbell, Sunnyvale and elsewhere, as 26 school districts around the state celebrated emerging from the federal roster of those needing improvement. But the celebration will be short-lived...
S.C. schools heed lesson of charters
The Santa Cruz Sentinel
9/27/06- Leaders of Santa Cruz City Schools are considering adding charter schools to the district as part of a broader effort to compete for students who are opting for specialized schools.The charter school plan, in its early stages, is part of package that includes adding more pre-kindergarten classes and creating in-school academies...
Ed Trust West Blasts State Teacher Equity Plan
California Education News
9/25/06- In a national environment where there is growing public mistrust as to whether the No Child Left Behind Act is improving public schools, one of the federal program’s biggest supporters contends the California Department of Education’s plan to increase the distribution of highly qualified teachers (HQT) is sorely lacking. The Education Trust West (ETW) report…
Bill to let schools land good teachers
The Sacramento Bee
9/25/06- It can take years to fire a bad teacher. So some principals don't even bother trying. Instead, they make a deal. The principal asks the teacher to look for a job elsewhere in the district. In exchange, the teacher gets a good evaluation. Now here's the rub. Since there's plenty of competition for plum jobs at affluent schools, the bad teacher gets funneled to a struggling school serving a needy population.
Schools Need Money, But How to Spend it?
North Lake Tahoe Bonanza
9/15/06- A group of Nevada state senators and assemblymen, ominously named the Legislative Committee on School Funding Adequacy, paid $200,000 for an out of state consultant's study which purported to show that Nevada needs to boost school spending by $1.3 billion. Problem is the report didn't say how that additional money should be spent.
Black, Latino students close gap on state test
San Diego Union Tribune
9/14/06- Black and Latino students in the class of 2006 passed a crucial state math test at nearly the same rate as their white and Asian classmates, breaking a long-established pattern of lagging scores, San Diego County educators announced yesterday.
Teacher inequality condemned
InsideBayArea
9/14/06- You've seen them many times on the big screen: tough-love teachers who spend their adult lives educating inner-city children in struggling schools. The only problem is that outside of Hollywood films, they aren't really the norm. Instead, low-income schools or those packed with minority students are more likely to hold California's underqualified and inexperienced teachers.
Taking a page from college:
Academies enable high school students to specialize in subject
The Record
9/12/06- High school is starting to look more like college for many students, as schools across San Joaquin County push similar specialized academies to pique students' interest in academics.
Dropout Nation: Failing Schools, Failing Students
"A World of Possibilities" Radio Show
The Mainstream Media Project
9/6/06- A generation ago California's schools, and this nation's schools, were the envy of the world. Today, they fail their students and their students fail them. What happens to those that drop out...
Leveling the Playing Field for All Students
The San Francisco Chronicle
9/5/06- The Ed Trust-West has been one of the only education policy organizations and perhaps the only civil-rights organization to support the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE, pronounced 'casey'). Our decision didn't come easy. The CAHSEE is, by far, the most wrenching issue...
Fail and then? For those who don't pass exit exam, there are options
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
8/28/06- Ryan Iosua, 18, figured this summer would be difficult, but he didn't expect it to be nearly hopeless. The Rancho Cucamonga resident finished high school this year without passing the now-required California High School Exit Exam...
STAR Scores: Stagnant Movement, Ample Lip Service
California Education News
8/28/06- On the rhetoric issue, Russylnn Ali, who, as executive director of Education Trust-West, has focused on the state’s widening achievement gap, offered perhaps the most cogent suggestion yet on how to stitch up the formidable achievement split.
2-night meet on education set for October
Los Angeles Daily News
8/28/06- An education conference aimed at civic leaders, education administrators, counselors, teachers, community advocates, parents and students will discuss aligning achievement levels for a culturally diverse student population. Antelope Valley College President Jackie Fisher, attorney and former teacher Russlynn Ali, local school superintendents and professors from University of California, Irvine, California State University, Northridge, and Hamline University in Minnesota are slated to speak at EdInterface 2006...
joannejacobs.com: Raising the bar
joannejacobs.com Blog
8/25/06- As Eduwonk writes, Russlynn Ali of Education Trust-West has produced an eloquent defense in "California at the Crossroads" of the state graduation exam, which requires all students -- however disadvantaged -- to demonstrate mastery of basic literacy and math skills to earn a diploma. Students must earn a 55 percent on a multiple-choice test of math skills, up to algebra, and 60 percent on a test of language skills, up to 10th grade English.
Eduwonk: Exit and Voice
Eduwonk Blog
8/24/06- If you only read one eduthing today, make it this letter (pdf) from Ed Trust West chief Russlynn Ali. I have mixed feelings about exit exams but, pegged to a new analysis of data from California's CAHSEE test, Ali's letter lays out the raw and complicated issues better than anything I've seen. See also this recent report from CEP on the state of play with exit exams if you're interested.
Minority parents support exit exam
Sacramento Bee, Contra Costa Times
8/24/06- Most African American, Asian American and Latino parents support the California High School Exit Exam and believe the main function of the public education system should be to prepare their children for college, according to a study released Wednesday by New America Media, a California-based ethnic media consortium. The findings were released a day after the state came out with the most recent exit exam figures, which show a wide achievement gap between white and Asian American students and their African American and Latino counterparts.
Many in 2007 risk failing exit exam; But slightly more high school seniors set to pass than in 2006
San Francisco Chronicle
8/23/06- Just weeks after California denied diplomas for the first time to tens of thousands of students who failed the state's high school exit exam, educators say more than 54,000 students in the class of 2007 risk the same fate.
Gap persists on high school exit exam
Los Angeles Daily News
8/23/06- More students in Los Angeles and statewide are passing the California High School Exit Exam on the first try, although minorities continue to lag behind, reflecting a persistent achievement gap, results released Tuesday show. While most of the high schools in the San Fernando Valley posted results that topped state averages, those in predominantly Latino communities followed the same disturbing trend exhibited throughout California.
Slight gain lauded in senior tests
Sacramento Bee
8/23/06- The second batch of high school seniors required to pass the California exit exam in order to graduate is starting the school year with greater success on the test than last year's seniors, Superintendent Jack O'Connell said Tuesday.
But the improvement is microscopic.
Exit exam is a mix of scores
The Daily Review, Inside the Bay Area, Alameda Times Star
8/23/06- Less than half of Oakland high school students who took the California High School Exit Exam passed the English and mathematics portions of the test last year, according to results released by the state Tuesday. Only 45 percent of Oakland students passed the math section during the 2005-06 school year while 48 percent passed the English portion, putting district students behind the statewide passing rates of 59 percent in math and 61 percent in English. However, 90 percent of Oakland seniors eligible to graduate in 2006 passed both sections of the exam.
More students pass exit exam on first try
Contra Costa Times, West County Times
8/23/06- As the California High School Exit Exam becomes more inevitable, a slightly
increasing number of students are passing the math and English parts of the test
on the first try, according to data from the state Department of Education.
South County Latinos failing exit exam
Santa Cruz Sentinel
8/23/06- The growing performance gap between white and Latino students in South County schools is one of the worst in the state, according to records released Tuesday by the state Department of Education.
Test scores improve, but glass is still less than half-full
Sacramento Bee, Rocklin and Roseville Today, Modesto Bee, Ventura County Star, The Island Packet, Contra Costa Times
8/18/06, 8/16/06- California's public school system, which spends more than $60 billion a year to educate more than 6 million children, embodies the age-old question of whether the glass is half-full or half-empty.
California STAR results highlight ELL importance
Education Daily
8/16/06- California’s 2006 Standardized Testing and Reporting System results show a slowly but steadily increasing level of student achievement. However, it seems unlikely the state will improve fast enough to meet the toughening requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act. The state’s approach to English-language learners, however, may well save schools from sanction in the short-term, as schools take advantage of a federal waiver to keep students who achieve fluency in the subgroup for up to three years.
Latinos, blacks, poor lag on tests; Student performance gap remains despite gains by all groups
Sacramento Bee
8/16/06- Latino, African American, and low-income children trailed far behind their peers on state tests this spring, despite modest gains by all demographic groups in both reading and math. The results of the state's Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) program, released to the public Tuesday, paint a picture of a population inching unequally toward widespread proficiency in reading and math.
Schools Getting Higher Marks on Tests
Los Angeles Times
8/16/06- Paced by gains in large urban districts, including Los Angeles Unified,
California public schools continued to show steady progress in standardized test
scores released Tuesday.
State schools' slow progress
San Francisco Chronicle
8/16/06- Fewer than half of California's students can read or calculate at grade level nearly a decade after the state began its top-to-bottom overhaul of public education -- but new test results released Tuesday show steady progress among all ethnic and income groups.
State's STAR scores rise; Upward trend continues, but so does achievement gap
San Jose Mercury News
8/16/06- Preliminary results from California's Standardized Testing and
Reporting Program, or STAR, show continued gains in math and English among the 4.7 million public school students in grades 2-11 tested last spring.
Achievement gap still a concern among educators
North County Times
8/16/06- A higher percent of San Diego County and California students are performing at or above grade level in math and English than in previous years, though fewer than half are considered proficient, a state report released Tuesday said.
State schools post slightly better scores
Contra Costa Times
8/16/06- California school test scores crept up slightly in 2006, but the state is still struggling with how to raise achievement among Latino and black students as well as those still new to English, according to data released Tuesday by the California Department of Education.
County Star test scores inch up
Press Democrat
8/16/06- California and North Coast schools continue to post modest gains in standardized test scores, but they have not begun closing the achievement gap between white and minority students.
Tests show slow progress in algebra
The Daily Review
8/16/06- Just three years ago, only a third of Hayward students took algebra in middle school. Now, almost all of the district's eighth-graders tackle irrational numbers, absolute values and the ubiquitous variable 'x.' As the California Department of Education pushes districts to teach algebra to more students earlier, the eighth-grade algebra classroom is becoming less of a place for the numerically elite.
Many California students below proficiency levels
San Francisco Chronicle
8/16/06- Millions of California public school students are better at reading and math than they were last year - but only 42 percent are scoring at grade level, according to the latest results of the California Standards Test released today.
Expert on overhauling school systems won't have to in S.D.
San Diego Union-Tribune
8/14/06- For the first time in a decade, Randolph Ward becomes a schools chief by invitation, not by state fiat. On the day in June that the San Diego County Board of Education voted unanimously to hire Ward as the next county superintendent of schools, trustee John Witt was so excited he gushed about the coming of Camelot. Trustee Nick Aguilar said he was “ecstatic” to have hired Ward to succeed Rudy Castruita, who retired Friday.
Edspresso Blog: Commenting on Friedman and Sipchen
Edspresso Blog
7/5/06- There have been a number of comments on Bob Sipchen's article/interview with Milton Friedman. We decided to respond to this one.
High-flying goals
Davis Enterprise
6/28/06- Two meetings next month will give the community a chance to talk about hopes and dreams for high school students.
The Politics of No Child Left Behind
American Enterprise Institute Newsletter
6/21/06- On January 8, 2002, President George W. Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) into law. Surrounded by smiling members of the Democratic and Republican leadership, the President declared, “as of this hour, America’s schools will be on a new path of reform, and a new path of results” (Office of the White House Press Secretary, 2002). NCLB brought sweeping changes to the 37-year-old Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and thrust the nation’s educators, schools, and school districts into a new world of federal educational leadership.
Alarming dropout rates in US schools
India Post
6/8/06- Even as Indian American kids continue to amaze the world with their dominance in education and the 'Bee' competitions, a simultaneous drop in Native American education has reached alarming proportions. About 30 years ago, American educationists would have sworn by the system and its products. Their students were the best, making their mark worldwide. They were a source of pride for USA.
Black Educators Divided on Villaraigosa schools plan
Frost Illustrated
6/5/06- While some black educators have expressed their determined opposition to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's plan to take control of the expansive Los Angeles Unified School District, others say they are very much in favor of the mayor's ambitious effort to reform K-12 education here.
Pass rate rises to 90.4 percent for exit exam
Sacramento Bee
6/2/06- In the final count before most high schools hold graduation this month, an estimated 41,758 seniors statewide have not passed the exit exam and will not get diplomas this spring. The figures released Thursday by the state Department of Education reflect tests students took in March and exclude students with disabilities, who are exempt from passing the test this year. Many students retested in May, but those scores won't be known until July.
Black educators divided on Villaraigosa plan
Black Press USA
6/1/06- While some Black educators have expressed their determined opposition to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s plan to take control of the expansive Los Angeles Unified School District, others say they are very much in favor of the mayor’s ambitious effort to reform K-12 education here.
Science test scores are inching upward
San Jose Mercury News
5/31/06- There was a glimmer of hope from otherwise distressing results of a national science test: California has put a little distance between it and Mississippi at the bottom of the heap.California's fourth-graders still ranked next to last in the National Assessment of Educational Progress, and its eighth-graders were 42nd out of 44 participating states. But its rate of improvement was among the best, especially for Latino and African-American kids, compared with results from 2000.
Science Scores Rise at State's Schools
Los Angeles Times
5/25/06- California's fourth- and eighth-graders are getting smarter in science, showing the largest achievement gains in the nation, but still scoring well below their peers in other states, according to a federal study released Wednesday. In addition, Latino, Asian and low-income fourth-graders in California showed marked improvement compared to other states, a particularly promising trend because the state's ethnic and racial makeup and large numbers of English learners have traditionally been associated with lower test scores.
California students improve science scores but lag other states
Sacramento Bee, Fresno Bee, Press-Enterprise, San Jose Mercury News, Contra Costa Times, Orange County Register, San Francisco Chronicle, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Merced Sun Star, KFMB-TV
5/24/06- California's fourth- and eighth-grade students made greater progress on national science tests than their counterparts around the nation, a national report card on student achievement in science said Wednesday. Despite that improvement, California's students had further to go. At least half of all students still scored below basic on their science knowledge on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, more than any other state besides Mississippi.
Dropout epidemic requires prescription for change
Arizona Capitol Times, West Valley View
5/22/06- A recent Oprah “Special Report” and a Time magazine cover story exposed a shocking statistic — nearly one in three American students do not graduate from high school. One in three. Prompting the coverage was “The Silent Epidemic: Perspectives on High School Dropouts,” a report by Civic Enterprises and Peter D. Hart Research Associates for the Gates Foundation. The study, which detailed survey and focus-group responses of more than 500 dropouts nationwide, sought to determine why students drop out and what might help them complete their education.
High School Exit Exam Tossed
Los Angeles Times
5/13/06- A California judge struck down the state's controversial high school exit exam Friday, potentially clearing the way for thousands of seniors who have failed the test to graduate with their class next month.
Cloudy future for exit test after ruling
San Jose Mercury News
5/13/06- A California judge suspended the state's high school exit exam as a graduation requirement Friday, saying California public schools don't fairly prepare all students -- a decision that calls into question whether the state can enforce a test of basic math and English competency for a diploma.
Nearly 90 percent of senior class has passed the exit exam
Sacramento Bee
5/5/06- The high school graduation season is weeks away, and nearly 47,000 California seniors - 10.7 percent of the class of 2006 - have yet to pass the test required for a diploma, according to figures released Thursday by the state Department of Education.
Greater Expectations
Education Week
4/26/06- The San Jose district did away with a two-track high school system and instead demanded that all of its students take a college-prep course of study.
Second suit challenges state exit exam
Sacramento Bee, Monterey County Herald
4/19/06- Opponents of the California High School Exit Exam have filed a second lawsuit trying to stop the state from withholding diplomas from 12th-graders who don't pass the test by graduation in June.
“The Oprah Winfrey Show” focuses on ‘Schools in Crisis’
4/11/06- A two part Oprah Special Report emphasizes the need for national attention on the enormity of the problems we face with our public education system.
LAUSD chalks up round
L.A. Daily News
4/11/06- Los Angeles Unified's aggressive efforts to staff all 750 of its schools with experienced, qualified teachers persuaded a judge Monday to lift a consent decree imposed 15 years ago. The nation's second-largest district has spent $11 million annually to comply with the consent decree, which was issued in 1991 in response to a lawsuit claiming that some schools - particularly in the inner city - suffered academically because they had disproportionately high numbers of inexperienced teachers and administrators. The consent decree required the district to allocate additional money for schools where teacher salaries fell below the district average. The money was spent on professional development and other support services.
Controller Steve Westly Proposes Reforms to Boost California Schools
Los Angeles Chronicle
4/4/06- LOS ANGELES – California State Controller and 2006 Democratic gubernatorial candidate Steve Westly today discussed his commitment to reinvigorating California’s public education system in an address delivered at the Education Trust-West’s biennial conference.
Angelides Campaign Calls for Two Additional Debates at Joint Appearances with Controller
California Chronicle
4/4/06- Angelides is scheduled to participate in joint appearances with the Controller at the Education Trust-West forum today and on the Univision public affairs program, “Voz y Voto,” scheduled to be taped on April 5. The campaign is continuing to review requests for additional debates. Additional details regarding debates will be announced at a later date.
Dueling ideas to improve schools
Saramento Bee
4/4/06- It wasn't the great debate that both campaigns promise is coming. But the two Democratic contenders for governor at least showed up in the same city and the same place - though two hours apart - Monday to contrast their visions for improving student achievement levels in California's struggling
public schools and increasing access to higher education.
Mayor Paints Dire School Picture
Los Angeles Daily News
4/4/06- Taking his case for controlling Los Angeles Unified to a statewide group of
educators, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said Monday the public school system is in
a state of crisis that threatens the city's economic future. "If Los Angeles is going to become the Venice of the 21st Century - the
center of trade and commerce - we need to make sure our kids get a good education," Villaraigosa told 300 teachers and administrators on the first day of a three-day education conference at the downtown Omni Hotel.
Two Democrats spar on education
Sacramento Bee
4/3/06- Two Democrats spar on education Steve Westly, the state controller, promised to raise K-12 funding by changing the payout formula for the California Lottery to offer a smaller percentage in prizes for lottery ticket buyers and a larger share of revenues for schools. Phil Angelides, the state treasurer, sold his plan to tax high income earners and close corporate tax loopholes to pay for training and recruiting more teachers for public schools as well as rolling back student fee increases at the University of California and California state university systems. Angelides also chided both Westly and Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who say they don't support a tax increase, for being in denial over how to fund education. With the June 6 primary election nine weeks away, the two Democratic candidates preened their educational credentials and differing philosophies before the state convention of Education Trust - West, an advocacy group working on improving the quality of education for economically disadvantaged students.
State has 48,000 students yet to pass exit exam
Oakland Tribune, Tri-Valley Herald, Alameda Times-Star, The Daily Review, Inside the Bay Area
3/29/06- An estimated 47,925 high school seniors still needed to pass the California High School Exit Exam, even after taking it again in September or November, according to best-guess statistics released by state education officials Tuesday. That's about 11 percent of the class, not including special education students who are exempt from the graduation requirement for one year. Glass half full, that's an estimated 89 percent of the class of 2006 that did pass and is eligible to receive a diploma in June. Those numbers do not include results from the February and March administrations of the exam, which won't be available until May.Yet those numbers don't tell the whole story. At the start of 12th grade, state documents showed nearly 100,000 seniors had yet to pass both the English and math portions of the test. On Tuesday the state-funded, independent study showed nearly 20,000 students passed the exam either in September or November seemingly bringing the total to 80,000. Then, the state subtracted 22,327 special education students because of a reprieve granted by the Legislature in January - an interim concession to a lawsuit that claims disabled students have not been adequately prepared for the exam. The subtractions leave an estimated 57,700 students - about 10,000 more than the state said hadn't passed. Researchers were unavailable to explain the discrepancy by late Thursday afternoon.
48,000 students still out in the cold
Sacramento Bee
3/29/06- The number of 12th-graders who have passed the California High School Exit
Exam is growing each time the test is given, but 48,000 seniors still hadn't passed by the end of 2005, putting them in danger of not graduating in June. The state Department of Education released those figures Tuesday, zooming in on the number of students who could be affected by the graduation requirement set to kick in this year: Only students who pass the two-part test may receive a
diploma.
Nearly 9 in 10 clear exit exam hurdle
Contra Costa Times
3/29/06- The percentage of California high school seniors clearing the high school
exit exam has inched up to 89 percent, according to a state report released Tuesday. About 73,000 students who were not in special education had failed to pass
both the English and math portions of the test by the beginning of this school year. On Tuesday, the California Department of Education said that number dropped
to nearly 48,000 -- or 11 percent of the state's 431,000 high school seniors.
Democrats set Gubernatorial debate in L.A.
Sacramento Bee
3/28/06- For its part, the Westly campaign says it agreed to an April 3 debate in Los
Angeles proposed by an education advocacy group, Education Trust West. But South
said Angelides didn't respond and that Westly will instead make a speech to the
group. Angelides campaign spokesman Brian Brokaw said the candidate initially
had a conflict but now plans to attend.
SCHOOL MATTERS -- Border High School Excels by Embracing Bilingualism
Pacific News Service
3/24/06 -- EL CENTRO, Calif.--The sounds of Spanish drift through the corridors of Southwest High School, a sprawling concrete row of buildings 10 miles north of the California-Mexico border. Spanish is spoken between students as they meander to their next class, laughing and joking. And even after they've filed into their classrooms, the Spanish often continues between student and teacher.
English learner's education held back
Contra Costa Times
2/21/06 -- High school senior Aksonexay Ratanasith arrived in the United States from war-torn Laos at age 3. He scored well on fluency tests, he said, but remained in English development classes until his sophomore year at Kennedy High School. Now a senior, he takes database applications and leadership class. He still doesn't understand why he wasn't allowed out of the English learner program sooner. For the past two years, nearly half of the state's 1.3 million English language learners have tested fluent on state exams, but less than 10 percent made their way to mainstream classes, according to the state Department of Education.
English learners left in limbo
Many students are passing the state proficiency test, but schools are not reclassifying them as fluent
Sacramento Bee
2/16/06 -- Almost half of Sacramento County students who are learning English have achieved proficiency in the language, according to test results released Wednesday by the state. But less than 10 percent have been reclassified by their schools as being fluent enough in English to keep up with the academic demands of learning science, history and other subjects in a language they were not born into.
Proficiency in English hits plateau
Contra Costa Times
2/16/06 -- Nearly half of the 1.3 million English learners in California's schools tested as fluent in English, according to test scores released today by the State Department of Education. The same number of students, about 45 percent, made the cut last year. After years on an upward path, the results mark a slowdown in the progress of educating the nation's largest population of English learners, who constitute roughly a quarter of the state's 6 million students.
Suit alleges exit exam unfair
Sacramento Bee
2/9/06 -- Saying that high school students who have passed their classes should be able to graduate even if they flunk California's test of basic math and English skills, a powerful San Francisco law firm sued the state Wednesday over the California High School Exit Exam.
Schools lagging badly in technological world, chief says
San Francisco Chronicle
2/8/06 -- As the world zips along, inventing and embracing everything from iPods to nanotechnology, California schools remain mired in an older, slower culture better suited to rotary phones and record players, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell said Tuesday in his annual State of the Schools address.
Districts look past state for talent
Contra Costa Times
2/6/06 -- As her undergraduate days at Clark Atlanta University came to a close last spring, the prospect of returning to her hometown of San Francisco to teach didn't look good for Marquel Cooke.
Outnumbered and feeling overlooked
The Press Enterprise
1/30/06 -- Black students at Cal State San Bernardino and UC Riverside are asking administrators to hire more black faculty members, increase the number of black students and do more to ensure that those enrolled finish their degrees.
Local high schools earn best curriculum rankings
Petaluma Argus-Courier
1/18/06 -- Petaluma High School and Casa Grande High School have been identified by The Education Trust-West as the two high schools in Sonoma County having the highest percentage of students graduating with "A-G" requirements completed.
No way around high school exit exam
Oakland Tribune
1/8/06 -- California's high school students are going to have to take an exit exam to get a diploma this spring, barring any last-minute lawsuits or a change of heart by the state Board of Education.
Fail exam? You don't graduate, state says
San Francisco Chronicle
1/7/06 -- State Superintendent Jack O'Connell delivered a tough-love message Friday to nearly 50,000 high school seniors still hoping to escape a new requirement that they pass the state's exit exam to get a diploma in June: The answer is "no,'' he said.
No alternative to failed exit exam
Sacramento Bee
1/7/06 --Seniors who do not pass the California High School Exit Exam this year should be allowed to continue their education, but diplomas will be awarded only to students who pass the test, Jack O'Connell, state superintendent of public instruction, announced at a Sacramento news conference Friday morning.
Schools chief: No skipping exit test
Oakland Tribune, Tri-Valley Herald, San Mateo County Times, The Daily Review
1/7/06 -- The decision has been made. No excuses, no alternatives: Graduating seniors must pass the High School Exit Exam to receive a diploma in June.
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