Schools
Walnut and Diamond Bar Students Best County and State Peers on CAHSEE
The California Department of Education released the results of the mandated California High School Exit Exam today.
Diamond Bar and Walnut high school sophomores outpaced their counterparts in Los Angeles County and statewide on the California High School Exit Exam.
The California Department of Education released results of the mandated exam today.
At Walnut High, 99 percent of 10th graders passed the math portion of the exam in 2012-13, the same last year, according to state data. For the English Language Arts section of the test, 93 percent of sophomores passed, down a tick from 94 percent last year.
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In math, 98 percent of Diamond Bar High 10th graders passed the exam, compared to 96 percent last year. For English, 94 percent of 10th graders passed the exam, slightly down from 97 percent in 2011-12.
At Diamond Ranch High School, which serves part of Diamond Bar, 91 percent of 10th graders passed the math portion of the exam, compared to 92 percent last year. For the English portion, 91 percent passed the exam, slightly down from 94 percent last year.
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The scores for Nogales High School, which serves a section of Walnut, dipped some for math. The percentage who passed was 79 percent, down from 82 percent last year. For the English portion, 80 percent passed, slightly up from 79 percent last year.
Across Los Angeles County, 83 percent of 10th graders passed the math portion of the test -- up from 82 percent last year -- while 82 percent passed the English section, up from 81 percent last year.
Statewide, 84 percent of 10th graders passed the math portion, while 83 percent passed English -- the same as the previous year's 10th graders.
According to the CDE, 95.5 percent of students in the class of 2013 across the state passed the overall exam, a slight uptick from the previous year. This year's pass rate was the highest it has been since the test was made a graduation requirement.
"Despite the very real challenges of deep budget cuts and the ongoing effort to shift to new, more demanding academic standards, our schools persevered and students made progress," according to Tom Torlakson, state superintendent of public instruction. "These results should give us confidence as we start the new school year, and our efforts to make college- and career- readiness a goal for every student move into high gear."
All students in California must take the exit exam during their sophomore year. They have two more opportunities to pass it in the 11th grade and up to five chances as seniors.
The class of 2006 was the first graduating class in California that was required to meet the exit exam requirement.
--City News Service and Local Editor Melanie C. Johnson contributed to this report.
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