BPUSD Students Performed Better in Math Exit Exam

Baldwin Park Unified School District 10th graders performed slightly better on the California High School Exit Exam than the previous year's class, with 83 percent passing the math portion, according to test results released Wednesday.

The score in Math was an improvement over the previous 10th grade class, which had a 82 percent pass rate, according to the California Department of Education.

The English section had a slightly decrease in the percentage of people passing the test with 78 percent reported for 2012. In 2011 79% passed the English section.

In 2012, 959 out of 1,1173 Baldwin Park students passed the math portion of the test and 929 out of 1,1172 students passed the English section.

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 three chances as seniors.

The class of 2006 was the first graduating class in California that was required to meet the exit exam requirement.

Across Los Angeles County, 82 percent of 10th graders passed the math portion of the test—up from 81 percent last year—and 81 percent passed the English portion, the same percentage as last year's class.

Statewide, 84 percent of 10th graders passed the math portion of the test, while 83 percent passed the English portion.

According to the CDE, 95 percent of students in the class of 2012 across the state passed the overall exam, up 0.8 percent from last year.

"When 95 percent of California students are hitting the mark—despite the tremendous challenges we face and the work we still have to do—there's an awful lot going right in our public schools," said Tom Torlakson, state superintendent of public instruction. "I congratulate the students who succeeded on this test, the teachers who provided invaluable instruction, and the parents who gave their support and encouragement."

Torlakson noted that the achievement gap between Hispanic and white students has narrowed by 12.5 percentage points from the class of 2006 and the class of 2014—this year's 10th graders—on the English portion of the test and 12.9 percentage points on the math section.

The gap between black and white students shrank over that same time period by 7.5 percentage points in English and 10.5 points in math.

—City News Service contributed to this report.

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