Local High Schools Perform Better in Math Exit Exam

Tenth grade students from South Gate High and South East High performed slightly better on the California High School Exit Exam than last year's class. 

This year, South East High had 81 percent of its students pass the Math portion. This was an improvement over the previous 10th grade class, which had a 78 percent pass rate, according to the California Department of Education.

The passing rate recorded for the English section by South East High students stayed at 80 percent. The same rate registered for the students in 2011.

South Gate High had lower passing rates on both Math and English than South East High. However, they did show a slight increase in the passing rate of both sections.

In 2012, 75 percent of South Gate High’s test-taking students passed the Math section. In comparison to the 72 percent that passed the Math portion in 2011.

In English, South Gate High had a passing rate of 74 percent, while those of last year had a 73 percent. 

All students in California must take the exit exam during their sophomore year. They have two more opportunities to pass it in the 11th grade and three chances as seniors.

The class of 2006 was the first graduating class in California that was required to meet the exit exam requirement.

Across Los Angeles County, 82 percent of 10th graders passed the math portion of the test—up from 81 percent last year—and 81 percent passed the English portion, the same percentage as last year's class.

Statewide, 84 percent of 10th graders passed the math portion of the test, while 83 percent passed the English portion.

According to the CDE, 95 percent of students in the class of 2012 across the state passed the overall exam, up 0.8 percent from last year.

"When 95 percent of California students are hitting the mark—despite the tremendous challenges we face and the work we still have to do—there's an awful lot going right in our public schools," said Tom Torlakson, state superintendent of public instruction. "I congratulate the students who succeeded on this test, the teachers who provided invaluable instruction, and the parents who gave their support and encouragement."

Torlakson noted that the achievement gap between Hispanic and white students has narrowed by 12.5 percentage points from the class of 2006 and the class of 2014—this year's 10th graders—on the English portion of the test and 12.9 percentage points on the math section.

The gap between black and white students shrank over that same time period by 7.5 percentage points in English and 10.5 points in math.

—City News Service contributed to this report.

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