More Than 80 Percent of NHUSD 10th Graders Pass High School Exit Exam

More Bay Area students passed the high school exit exam in 2011 than ever in the 12 years since the state created the test, according to results released Wednesday by the California Department of Education.

, approximately 85 percent of 10th graders passed the California High School Exit Examination this year, which students pass to get their diploma. At James Logan High School, 86 percent of sophomores passed the math exam while 85 percent passed the English-Language Arts test.

This year's figures are only slightly different from last year, where 81 percent of New Haven students passed the math exam and 85 passed the English-Language Arts test.

Statewide, 94.6 percent — or 422,558 students — passed the English-language arts and mathematics part of the test by their senior year and qualified to graduate.

(Click here to see the results yourself.)

The achievement gap between white and minority students continues to shrink.

The percentage of black students in California who passed the exit exam was 90.9 of this year's graduating class, up from 89.6 percent the year before. Some 92.3 percent of the state's Hispanic students passed this year, up from 91.4 percent in 2010.

Statewide passage rates for white and Asian students: 98.4 percent and 97.7 percent, respectively.

“It is heartening to see that our students continue to learn and achieve despite the painful toll that budget cuts are taking on our schools,” said state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson. “The results of this year’s exit examination — and the progress schools are making to close the achievement gap — are yet another sign of the remarkable commitment that teachers, school employees, and administrators have to the students of California.”

More on NHUSD's Tenth Grade Results

• 1,035 students took the math exam and 1,039 took the English-Language Arts test
• Of the 544 males who took the math exam, 86 percent scored at proficient or above; and of the 545 males who took the English exam, 82 percent passed.
• Of the 491 females who took the math exam, 84 percent passed; of the 494 who took the English text, 86 percent scored proficient or above in the English exam.
• Filipino students scored the highest in both math and English, with 93 percent passing the math exam and 91 percent passing in English
• Of Hispanic or Latino students, who had the highest number of students taking the exams (335 taking the math exam, 346 taking English), 81 passed the exam math and 78 passed the English test
• 84 percent of white students passed in math; 86 percent passed in English
• 81 percent of mixed-race students passed in math, 82 percent in English
• 66 percent of black students passed in math, 74 percent in English
• 78 percent of students from low-income families passed in math, 75 in English