History of IDEA
Jeannie Oakes, Founder and Former Director
Youth Voice in School Finance
NEW REPORT: Los Angeles' road to A-G for all
Without Dollars and Sense Powerpoint
Past Educational Opportunity Reports
A response to the HumRRO Evaluation
ARE CALIFORNIA SCHOOLS READY FOR THE EXIT EXAM?
Download: A Response to the HumRRO Evaluation (336 KB, 1 Page)
A Response to the HumRRO Evaluation
Jennifer Jellison Holme and John Rogers,
UCLA’s Institute For Democracy, Education and Access (IDEA)
April 21, 2005
In 1999, the California Department of Education contracted with the Human Resources
Research Organization (HumRRO), an independent evaluation firm based in Alexandria,
Virginia, to perform annual evaluations of the quality and impact of the California High
School Exit Exam (CAHSEE). HumRRO’s Fall 2004 Report asserts that California’s high
schools have made a great deal of progress in preparing students for the CAHSEE. It
recommends that California deny diplomas to students in the Class of 2006 who do not
pass the High School Exit Exam.
Our review of HumRRO’s points to a number of problems with HumRRO’s analysis and
conclusions. In fact, HumRRO’s data reveals that many California schools still are not
adequately preparing students for success on the CAHSEE.
1) What HumRRO Claims: “Despite predictions by principals and
teachers, the current CAHSEE requirement has been accompanied
by a decrease rather than an increase in dropout and retention
rates” (p.v, executive summary).
What HumRRO Data Show: HumRRO’s analysis grossly understates the number of
students who drop out of California schools according to a recent report by the Harvard
Civil Rights Project. Further, the dropout figures HumRRO cites are for cohorts of
students who faced no penalty for failing the Exit Exam. The fear of many educators is
that once a penalty is imposed for failing the exam, students will become discouraged
and drop out at higher rates. HumRRO’s drop out figures do not address this concern.
What HumRRO data do indicate is that more than two-thirds of English Language
Learners, “Economically Disadvantaged” students,” and Hispanic students, and nearly
two-thirds of Black students, believe it will be “a lot” or “somewhat harder” to graduate
if required to pass the ELA or math portion of the HSEE for graduation. More than 40%
of White and Asian students also believe obtaining a diploma will be more difficult
if they are required to pass either the ELA or math test for graduation. In addition,
large number of principals (73%) and teachers (41%) believe that it will be harder for
students to graduate if they are required to pass the HSEE for graduation.
2) What HumRRO Claims: “Initial results from the Class of 2006
suggests [sic] that it is quite likely that, given some effort on their
part, nearly all students will be able to pass the CAHSEE (with the
exception of some students receiving special education services,
as addressed in a later recommendation)” (p.vii, executive summary).
What HumRRO Data Show: A large number of students in the Class of 2006 have not
yet passed at least one of section of the exam, including more than 50% of California’s
English Learners, more than 39% of the state’s African-American students, more than
40% of Hispanic students, and more than 40% of “Economically Disadvantaged”
students. In addition, HumRRO data suggest that schools have not fully implemented
many services to “promote learning for all students” (see p. 122, and comment #4 below).
3) What HumRRO Claims: Most students were receiving instruction
in the material covered by the CAHSEE (p.iii, executive summary).
What HumRRO Data Show: More than 30% of Black, Hispanic, Economically
Disadvantaged, English Learners, and White students said that the math section of the
Exit Exam tested them on topics that they were never taught.
4) What HumRRO Claims: “One of the most positive results of the
CAHSEE requirement has been to help schools identify students
who need additional help in acquiring essential skills and to
implement programs to provide that help” (p.138).
What HumRRO Data Show: Only 34 principals responded to the survey that forms
the basis of HumRRO’s claim. In a state with over 1,000 high schools, such a small
number of responses should not be relied upon to make definitive policy judgments.
If we are going to look at the results of the principal survey, then we must consider
the responses which paint a bleaker picture of school readiness. For example, only 50%
of the 34 principals indicated their schools have fully implemented “individual student
assistance,” only 52% have fully implemented “teacher and school support services,” and
just 28% have fully implemented “student and parent support services.” In addition,
although students of color are experiencing the highest failure rates on the exam, just
53% of the 34 principals indicated that they have fully implemented “administrator
and teacher access to in-service training for working with diverse student populations”
(p.122). Significantly, HumRRO data show that large numbers of the principals surveyed
said that fiscal constraints hindered their efforts to implement “services to promote
learning for all students” (p.122).
5) What HumRRO Claims: “ELA passing rates for English learners who
had been redesignated as fluent English proficient were actually higher
than for other student groups, suggesting that the lower passing rates
for English learners will disappear once they achieve English proficiency”
(p.iii, executive summary).
What HumRRO Data Show: Of the 83,728 English Learners in the Class of 2006 that
have taken the ELA portion of the exam, 62% have failed (see p. 25). This means that
51,911 English Learners are currently at risk of being denied a diploma. While HumRRO
claims that pass rates will improve once students are redesignated as Fluent English
Proficient, California Department of Education data show that just 8.3% of California’s
English Learners were redesignated as Fluent English Proficient in 2003-2004. If
redesignation rates do not improve significantly in the next year, the majority of English
Learners in California’s high schools will not reach proficiency in time to pass the Exit Exam.
INSTITUTE FOR DEMOCRACY, EDUCATION, AND ACCESS
For more information please contact John Rogers at UCLA/IDEA:
1041 Moore Hall • Box 951521 • Los Angeles, California 90095-1521 • 310-206-8725
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