The Turlock Unified School District has reached a turning point as the latest rounds of California High School Exit Exam results were released.
Although scores at both TUSD’s comprehensive high schools showed a one percent drop on the English/language arts section of the exam from 84 percent in the 2010-11 school year to 83 percent in 2011-12, the percentage of students who passed the CAHSEE in the mathematics portion remained constant at 83 percent.
In the last three years the percentage of students at both schools who tested as proficient or advanced has increased from 44 percent in the 2007-08 school year to 82 percent in 2010-11. In English/ language arts, the percentage jumped from 48.4 percent in 2007-08 to 84 percent in 2010-11.
One of the most impressive achievements from the CAHSEE results is the dramatic increase of Special Education Students, who went up eight percent in those who passed in the mathematics and English/language arts section of the exam.
“The district is pleased with this year’s CAHSEE,” said Director of TUSD Assessment and Accountability Lori Herrington. “In comparison to past year’s scores, our schools are only getting better and the numbers are going up.”
English learner students’ pass percentage increased substantially. Seventy-three percent of Turlock High’s English learner students passed the math section of the exam. At Pitman High, 98 percent of students reclassified as Fluent-English Proficient passed the ELA portion of the exam.
“Our teachers have been working really hard over the past years to ensure our students pass the first time. However, sometimes that is not the case,” said Herrington.
Students who do not pass the CAHSEE on their first attempt are given multiple opportunities throughout the school year to pass the exam.
“Last year we participated in a pilot writing examination portion provided by the California Department of Education and Educational Testing Services, which is the company that is in contract with CAHSEE,” Herrington said. “The district agrees that the pilot writing portion the students took last year gave them an advantage in preparation prior to the CAHSEE.”
Hilmar Unified School District also showed a substantial increase in the English/language arts section of the exam from 80 percent passing in 2010-11 to 87 percent in 2011-12. Special Education students showed a major improvement in the ELA portion of the exam increasing 7 percent from last year.
Delhi Unified School District showed a 3 percent drop on the math portion of the exam with a 76 percent in the 2011-12 school year. English learner students showed a significant improvement in the math portion of the examination jumping up to 8 percent compared to last year’s results.
Denair Unified School District’s comprehensive high school showed a significant drop in the percentage of English learner students who passed the CAHSEE in both ELA and mathematics portion of the exam. The percentage of students who passed the math portion of the test dropped from 35 percent in the 2010-11 school year to 6 percent in 2011-12. In ELA, the percentage dropped substantially from 40 percent in 2010-11 school year to 17 percent in 2011-12.
