Hollister
– San Benito High School educators are revamping and developing
special classes designed to give upperclassmen the extra push they
need to pass the California High School Exit Exam before
commencement ceremonies this year.
Hollister – San Benito High School educators are revamping and developing special classes designed to give upperclassmen the extra push they need to pass the California High School Exit Exam before commencement ceremonies this year.
“There are a lot of students with different needs that we have to meet, and this is one way to reach more of them,” said Cindy Cordova, SBHS’ director of educational services.
The CAHSEE is a statewide exam testing basic math and English skills that students must pass, on top of their coursework, in order to receive a valid high school diploma in California. The class of 2006 was the first graduating class to be held to this standard.
Tonight the SBHS Board of Trustees will examine and vote on whether to approve two new courses, CAHSEE Math Support 1 and its English language counterpart, essentially a renaming of current support offerings. Should it pass, educators plan on introducing CAHSEE Support II classes for the second semester. Support I classes will be for students who took and failed one or both parts of the exam once; Support II classes will be for students who have repeatedly been unable to pass both portions of the exam.
“Last year was the first time seniors had to pass the CAHSEE in order to graduate, so we had to basically develop the support class as it was taught,” Cordova said. “It became very clear that we needed to offer more tailored instruction.”
For example, one student may have failed the test once and needs drilling on the material covered in order to be successful, while a student who has failed many times may need to focus on test-taking strategies to quell exam anxiety. Many of the students enrolled in support courses are special needs students or English language learners, and are at a decided disadvantage in their own right.
“What I see this year are a lot of special needs students who are struggling with processing – getting through the instructions, the questions and passing the tests,” said Mario Ferrito, who currently teaches the English CAHSEE support class. “And a broader population of English language learners. This exam is given to all high school students, but these are the ones who struggle the most.”
This year 120 seniors will have to pass the exam before receiving their diplomas, Cordova said. SBHS has opted to offer “Certificates of Completion” for students who pass all of their courses but not the CAHSEE, allowing them to walk in commencement ceremonies. The first chance for juniors and seniors to retake the CAHSEE this year is Nov. 7 and 8.
“We’re really going to hustle before this test and cover as much of the material as we can,” Ferrito said. “But these students will have a second and third chance later in the year.”
Cordova said that while the district has not received any additional resources from the state, the district would be applying for funding in order to offer extensive after-school tutoring sessions for students who need extra help with the CAHSEE.
“Some of these students can’t even fit the support classes into their schedule, for example if they’ve failed one or two of their core classes,” she said. “So an after-school program would be valuable.”
This year’s sophomores will take the CAHSEE for the first time this March.
Danielle Smith covers education for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or
ds****@fr***********.com
.
