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Passing the Exit
"My heart goes out the people that didn’t pass, but we offer after-school programs...there’s classes that you can take for both parts, English and math, during school. "
By Jennifer Obakhume
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The debate over California’s High School Exit Exam has left a lot of students in limbo, and 47,000 seniors who did not pass the exam may not graduate this year. Several students and their parents contested the exam in court saying the test requirement for graduation discriminates against students in low-income schools and students learning English. While the courts first ruled in their favor, that decision was thrown out. As of now, the Exit Exam holds as a graduation requirement. Youth Radio’s Jennifer Obakhume reports on the experience of students caught in the middle of the debate.
My friend Ernesto Martinez is one of 40 seniors at Inglewood High School who didn’t pass the California High School Exit Exam, also known as the “CAHSEE.” Ernesto took the exam 5 different times, and each time he was only a few points away from passing. He took a Princeton Review prep course and got a tutor.
In spite all of the work, he says he could’ve tried harder.
ERNESTO (on tape)
I could’ve applied myself better, but the material was correct, everything that they taught us was on the CAHSEE, but it was just a matter of just applying yourself. So...that’s why I didn’t pass.
JENNIFER
Unlike Ernesto, the students who brought the lawsuit against the California Department of Education don’t blame themselves for not passing. They point the finger at sub-standard schools. My friend Nicita Sinha agrees. She got accepted to UCLA before finally passing the exam after 3 tries. I asked Nicita if she thinks she could have passed with better instruction at school.
NICITA (on tape)
I could have. Yes. But, my teachers, they didn’t teach it to me. I guess the teachers are just not doing their jobs I think.
MS. KIRKWOOD (on tape)
If they do not pass the exam, I feel that they should not be allowed to walk across the stage at graduation.
JENNIFER
Ms. Kimberly Kirkwood, our college counselor, holds a different perspective. She says students need to be responsible for their own education.
MS. KIRKWOOD (on tape)
There should be something...that says that the students have learned what they supposedly had learned through their career of elementary school, middle school, and high school.
JENNIFER
You may be surprised to hear many students feel the same way as Ms. Kirkwood. Here’s senior Felicia Tomiyasu.
FELICIA (on tape)
My heart goes out the people that didn’t pass, but we offer after-school programs...there’s classes that you can take for both parts, English and Math, during school. It just, it makes no sense for kids not to pass it the first time.
JENNIFER
Ernesto took one last shot at the CAHSEE exam in May. Now, he says he’s just tired of worrying about it, and frustrated by how close he came these last 4 times.
ERNESTO (on tape)
I’ve always missed it by a couple of points. The last time, I just missed it by three points, which I was like, ‘Can’t you just give me the three points?’ I mean, nobody’s perfect. We’re not robots.
JENNIFER
Ernesto won’t know his latest test results until after Inglewood High School’s graduation ceremony...where he won’t be a participant.
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