The Center on Education Policy is a national, independent advocate for public education and for more effective public schools. The Center helps Americans better understand the role of public education in a democracy and the need to improve the academic quality of public schools. We do not represent any special interests. Instead, we try to help citizens make sense of the conflicting opinions and perceptions about public education and create the conditions that will lead to better public schools.
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Policy Brief 1: A Move Toward End-of-Course Exams
Author(s): Dalia Zabala
States continue to move toward end-of-course exams. The use of end-of-course exams as a graduation requirement began with one state in 2002, four states in 2007, and an expected 12 states in 2015. This brief illustrates this shift and summarizes some of the upcoming changes.
Published: January 31, 2008
Policy Brief 2: Patterns in Gaps in Pass Rates
Author(s): Dalia Zabala and Angela Minnici
In this brief, the Center on Education Policy highlights two patterns in state high school exit exam pass rates. States with higher percentages of white students passing exit exams also tend to report higher percentage pass rates for students of color. Furthermore, states with higher overall pass rates tend to report smaller achievement gaps between subgroups. Why do these relationships exit?
Published: February 28, 2008
Policy Brief 3: Students with Disabilities
Author(s): Dalia Zabala
States with mandated high school exit exams consistently report low pass rates for students with disabilities. These low pass rates have led educators to implement various intervention and remediation programs. Yet these gaps persist until the end of 12th grade, even though students have had multiple opportunities to retake the exam. This brief highlights some of the most common alternative paths to graduation for students with disabilities in states that require students to achieve passing scores on exit exams to receive a high school diploma.
Published: March 25, 2008
Availability: Policy Brief 1 | Policy Brief 2 | Policy Brief 3