San Benito High School students saw a significant jump in their
math scores and a small drop in English on the California High
School Exit Exam, a test they need to pass if they are going to
graduate.
San Benito High School students saw a significant jump in their math scores and a small drop in English on the California High School Exit Exam, a test they need to pass if they are going to graduate.
Sixty-nine percent of sophomores tested passed the math portion, as compared to 52 percent last year. The English-language arts scores dropped from 79 percent passing in 2003, to 76 percent this year.
Math teacher Steven Zenk said the 17-percent jump in students passing the math test is great news, and that exam was much more aligned with state standards this year.
“The department worked really hard to prepare the students,” he said. “The kids this year also knew the scores were going to count, so I think the level of concern was much higher.”
English Department Chair Kristi Britton said there are substantial reasons why the English scores went down instead of up. The test had more questions which gives them more to get wrong, and only had one essay this year instead of two, she said.
“If they blew the essay portion, they lost all those points where as before there was two essays so they had more of a chance,” Britton said.
Along with the changes in the test structure, Britton said, many students find it hard to take the test seriously because the results didn’t count the past two years. The classes of 2004 and 2005 both took the exams and the results were not used. Because they have six more times to take it before they graduate, Britton said, this leads some students to think it is not an important assessment.
“Some of them have the attitude that it’s not going to count, or they’re wondering if it will ever count,” she said. “And some think ‘Well, if this is an exit exam, and we’re in tenth grade, then do we know everything we should to get done with high school?'”
One of the ways the state has tried to better prepare the students this year is by providing study guides two months before testing. Principal Duane Morgan said this was a good way to prepare students.
“They had a better understanding of what was going to be on the exam,” he said.
SBHS is taking steps to make sure they continue to see positive results for years to come. The school brought extra copies of the state study guides to the middle schools, showing teachers, parents and students what to prepare for.
“As sophomores, we’ve only had them for one year so we really need to build those bridges with the junior highs because that’s our key to success,” Morgan said.
Morgan strongly believes we should test to measure student achievement, but said there are far too many tests and somehow they should be consolidated.
“You want kids to graduate, go to college or enter the workplace with skills, so measuring their achievement is important, but I think we test too much, and I think we should cut down on so many exams,” he said.
County Superintendent Tim Foley agrees with Morgan and said having so many different tests is an “unneeded burden.”
“It’s important to have them demonstrate their proficiency, but we should be able to combine tests so they can take one and the results be used for various requirements,” he said.
Christine Tognetti can be reached at 637-5566, ext. 330 or at ct*******@fr***********.com.
