Recommendation on the High School Exit Examination and Pathways to Graduation

Oct 3, 2026

Uploaded by gewufjwa

Recommendation report prepared for the Governor, State Legislature, and Director of Finance by the California Department of Education. It reviews whether to continue the High School Exit Examination and proposes alternative pathways to satisfy high school graduation requirements under California Education Code. The report summarizes stakeholder input, an advisory panel process conducted in 2016, survey results, and a special study including literature review and national scan, culminating in the State Superintendent’s recommendation.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages107

Reading Time4 h 30 min

AccessFree to download

Executive Summary

Introduction

Purpose

Background

Senate Bill 172 Requirements

California High School Exit Examination in an Evolving State Assessment System

California’s Current Assessment System

Strengths, Limitations, and Unintended Consequences

Information-Gathering Process

Special Study

Advisory Panel Feedback

Pathways to Graduation: Regional Meetings

Survey Results

State Superintendent’s Recommendation

Appendices

California Department of Education Report to the Governor, the State Legislature, and the Director of Finance: Recommendation on the High School Exit Examination and Pathways to Graduation Prepared by the Assessment Development and Administration Division District, School, and Innovation Branch September 2016 Description: Report and recommendation on continuation of the high school exit examination and on alternative pathways to satisfy high school graduation requirements Authority: California Education Code Section 60850(c)(6) Recipient: State Board of Education, appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature , and Director of Finance Due Date: March 1, 2016 California Department of Education Recommendation on the High School Exit Examination and Pathways to Graduation Contents Acknowledgments......................................................................................... iii Executive Summary .....................................................................................vii I. Introduction .............................................................................................. 1 II. Purpose .................................................................................................... 1 III. Background.............................................................................................. 1 a. Senate Bill 172 Requirements ............................................................ 1 b. California High School Exit Examination in an Evolving State Assessment System ...........................................................................2 c. California’s Current Assessment System ...........................................5 d. California High School Exit Examination Strengths, Limitations, Unintended Consequences, and Current Context .............................. 7 IV. Senate Bill 172 Information-Gathering Process ...................................9 V. Special Study: Literature Review, Analysis, and National State Scan .......................................................................................... 12 VI. Advisory Panel Feedback ..................................................................... 14 a. Advisory Panel Feedback to the State Superintendent of Public Instruction............................................................................... 14 b. Themes of Advisory Panel Discussions ............................................ 14 VII. Pathways to Graduation: Regional Meetings ..................................... 16 VIII. Survey Results....................................................................................... 16 IX. State Superintendent of Public Instruction’s Recommendation ...... 17 Appendices A. Education Code Sections Related to Senate Bill 172 ........................ 18 B. 2015–16 California Assessment System ...........................................21 C. Estimated Testing Time .....................................................................23 D. University of California, Davis: High School Exit Exams: A Review of the Literature, Current State Reforms, and Analysis of California Assessment Data ...............................................................................24 E. Pathways to Graduation: Advisory Panel Description ........................68 F. Pathways to Graduation: Advisory Panel Preliminary Feedback .......71 G. Pathways to Graduation: Advisory Panel Detailed Feedback and Comments .......................................................................................... 78 H. Pathways to Graduation: Regional Meetings Stakeholder Feedback 84 I. Pathways to Graduation: Online Survey Description and Feedback .89 California Department of Education Recommendation on the High School Exit Examination and Pathways to Graduation Acknowledgments This report is the result of an effort to collect input from stakeholders, researchers, and co

FAQs

What decision does the report recommend regarding the High School Exit Examination?

The report focuses on recommending whether to continue the High School Exit Examination and how it should relate to graduation requirements.

What alternative pathways to graduation are addressed?

The report develops and evaluates alternative pathways intended to satisfy high school graduation requirements when relying on the exam is not sufficient.

How did the advisory panel gather input for the recommendation?

The California Department of Education assembled an advisory panel that met in February 2016 and May 2016 to gather feedback from specified stakeholders and inform the recommendation.

Oct 3, 2026

Uploaded by gewufjwa