As More Diplomas are Withheld & Gaps in Pass Rates for Minority, Poor, Disabled Students Persist, States Press Ahead with Exit Exams

8/13/2003

From: Shep Ranbom or Matt Maurer, 202-955-9450 both for the Center on Education Policy

WASHINGTON, Aug. 13 -- State high school exit exams have led to improvements in curriculum and instruction but also to ballooning implementation costs and disproportionately low pass rates for minority, poor, and disabled students and for English language learners, according to a report released today by the Washington, D.C.-based Center on Education Policy (CEP), which annually tracks the policy, status, and effects of exit exams in the United States. Some states have responded to public opposition and high initial failure rates with waivers, alternative tests, delayed consequences, lowered cut scores, or voided results. However, many of these changes affect small numbers of students, and states are generally forging ahead with their exit exams.

The exams, which this year have denied diplomas to thousands of students nationwide, are now required in 19 states that educate more than half (52 percent) of all public school students and even more (55 percent) of minority public school students. With five additional states (Alaska, Arizona, California, Utah, and Washington) scheduled to phase in new exit exams over the next five years, exit tests will likely affect 7 in 10 public school students and 8 in 10 minority students by 2008 according to State High School Exit Exams: Put To The Test, a new study with information collected from every state with current or planned exit exam requirements, a review of the best research available in the field, and newly commissioned original research.

Although initial pass rates vary considerably from state to state and in different subject areas, the report reveals significant gaps between initial and cumulative pass rates among key groups of students. In 12 states for which the report includes disaggregated performance data, African American, Hispanic, poor and disabled students and English language learners had lower pass rates than their white counterparts in every state in reading and math. In most cases, pass rates were significantly lower.

For example, the gaps in initial pass rates between white and African American students in reading/English language arts range from a 5-point difference in Georgia to a 41-point difference in Florida; in mathematics, the gap ranges from 17 points in Georgia to 45 points in Minnesota. The gaps between white and Hispanic students are also wide, and pass rates for students with disabilities, English language learners, and low-income students continue to be well below average. And while data from a number of states suggest that many students eventually pass the exams in time to graduate, the adverse impact on these groups of students persists even as students are granted numerous opportunities to pass the tests. As states have begun withholding diplomas and phasing in new tests, public and political pressure has grown, which is why some states have made changes to their testing systems.

"The states are struggling with maintaining a balance between firmness and fairness," says Jack Jennings, director of CEP. "While states want to refrain from watering down requirements, they are seeing low pass rates for minority, poor, and disabled students. States need to monitor the effects of exit exams and continue efforts to speed up implementation of academic interventions and enrichment that can minimize the negative effects of the tests on key populations."

State High School Exit Exams: Put To The Test, along with additional information on CEP and its other publications, is available on the web at http://www.cep-dc.org.