High School Exit Examinations » Special Reports & Articles

On May 14, 2009, the Tucson Citizen published this guest editorial from CEP that addresses Arizona's high school exam policies for alternate paths for graduation and the state's testing policy for high school students who are learning English. The newspaper invited Jack Jennings and Ying Zhang to write this editorial because of research CEP conducted in five Arizona high schools. This research resulted in two reports, Conflicts Between State Policy and School Practice: Learning from Arizona's Experience with High School Exam Policies and Caught in the Middle: Arizona's English Language Learners and the High School Exit Exam, which are posted on the CEP Web site under the "High School Exit Examinations" tab.

This report looks at how local educators perceive and act on state policies designed to help at-risk students and English language learners achieve the levels of proficiency needed to pass state high school exit examinations and graduate. Our findings are based on data from school observations and interviews with more than 50 school administrators, teachers, and other school staff in Arizona.

Since much of the previous research on exit exams, including CEP's own work, has looked at national patterns of implementation and passing rates, this study aimed to benefit policy and practice by focusing on the local level. In particular, we conducted case studies in Jackson and Austin that examined how classroom instruction and other initiatives are preparing students for exit exams, as well as how these exams are affecting students’ engagement in learning and their plans for postsecondary education.

The Center on Education Policy together with Learning Point Associates hosted a Webcast titled “The Hidden Costs of High School Exit Exams” on September 19th from 2-3 p.m. (EST). The purpose of this Webcast was to provide information to educational stakeholders about the costs of high school exit exam policies at the state and district levels.

ACCESS THE WEBCAST (Please use Replay # 1494134404) 

Report on the impact of exit exams in a Maryland and a Virginia school district in the winter of 2004-2005.

Preview of findings from the CEP's report, PAY NOW OR PAY LATER: The Hidden Costs of High School Exit Exams, looks at the extra costs of implementing the No Child Left Behind Act's mandated exit exams.

Using Indiana as the case study researchers examined the costs of instituting statewide exit exams.