East Bay Students Show Steady Gains in Exit Exam Scores

More Bay Area students passed the high school exit exam in 2011 than ever in the 12 years since the state created the test, according to results released Wednesday by the California Department of Education.

In the , six percent failed the California High School Exit Examination in the English/Language Arts category, which 11th graders have to pass to get their diploma. Of those who passed, 81 percent scored at grade-level or higher.

In the math section, seven percent failed the examination. Of those who passed, 75 percent scored at grade-level or higher.

Statewide, 94.6 percent – or 422, 558 students – passed the English-language arts and mathematics part of the test and qualified to graduate.

(Click here to see the results yourself.)

The achievement gap between white and minority students continues to shrink.

The percentage of black students in California who passed the exit exam was 90.9 of this year's graduating class, up from 89.6 percent the year before. Some 92.3 percent of the state's Hispanic students passed this year, up from 91.4 percent in 2010.

Statewide passage rates for white and Asian students: 98.4 percent and 97.7 percent, respectively.

“It is heartening to see that our students continue to learn and achieve despite the painful toll that budget cuts are taking on our schools,” said state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson. “The results of this year’s exit examination — and the progress schools are making to close the achievement gap — are yet another sign of the remarkable commitment that teachers, school employees, and administrators have to the students of California.”

For more information on the results, click here.