San Rafael High Schools in Line with State on Exit Exams

Students at San Rafael and Terra Linda high schools performed solidly on the California High School Exit Examinations with most tenth graders meeting graduation requirements.

At Terra Linda High School, 82 percent of tenth graders passed the math section of the exam and 80 percent proved their proficiency in English-language arts. At San Rafael High School, 78 percent of the class of 2012 passed math and 74 percent passed English-language arts.

San Rafael City Schools officials could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.

Statewide, students continue to make progress with increasing numbers passing the test that is a graduation requirement.

"I am pleased that the latest exit exam results show that more of our students are mastering the mathematics and English-language arts skills measured by this exam," said Jack O'Connell, state superintendent of schools. "Passing the exit exam is a high school graduation requirement because students need these important basic skills to be successful in college, the workforce, and in life."

By the end of their senior year, approximately 94.5 percent, or more than 419,600 students in the class of 2010, successfully passed both the English-language arts and mathematics portions of the exam.

The latest data indicate that an increasing percentage of students are passing the exit exam in the tenth grade, which is the first opportunity students have to take it. Some 80.6 percent of the class of 2012 has already passed the English-language arts portion, compared to 79.2 percent of tenth graders in the class of 2011. In mathematics, the passage rate for first-time test takers in the class of 2012 is 80.7 percent, an increase of .9 percent over the class of 2011.

The results among subgroups of students show the achievement gap is narrowing. By the end of their senior year, the cumulative passing rate for black or African American students was 89.7 percent; Hispanic or Latino students, 91.6 percent; Asian students, 97.4 percent; and white students, 98.1 percent.