Making an "Exit"

"A high school diploma shouldn’t just be given out, it should be earned."

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By Jazmine Livingston

The California Supreme Court overturned an Alameda County Superior Court decision that would have gotten rid of the controversial California High School Exit Exam. Youth Radio's Jazmine Livingston is glad that the exit exam was reinstituted because she believes it measures important skills that everyone should acquire. (May 17 on NPR's Day to Day)

Thanks to a recent controversial ruling by Superior Court Judge Robert Freedman, students who fail the California Exit Exam will not be prevented from graduating this year. But you know what? I say they should be.

I’m a senior about to graduate next month, and I took the test during sophomore year. Personally, I thought the test was easy. I didn’t even study and still scored within the top ten percent. Students learn 90% of the test material in middle school. And if they didn’t, they still have all of ninth grade to catch up.

Once a student hits 10th grade, teachers provide two study booklets: one for math, and one for English, So there’s ample time to study before the test. Plus, a student can retake it if need be. Even after all that preparation, if you fail it sophomore year, you can take it again junior year. And if you don’t pass it then, you can take it once again your senior year.

If, after all that, a student still can’t pass the test, then maybe they shouldn’t graduate. The skills needed to pass are essential to a successful life, even if you don’t plan on going to college. Not knowing them doesn’t make things any easier once you enter “the real world.” That may sound harsh, but it’s how I feel. After all, you may not realize it, but you use basic math in just about every job you can think of. And even something as normal as a rental lease or a job application requires the English proficiency that the test also measures. I mean, you have to know what you’re getting into, right?

Of course, I do see the other side of it. There are some people that haven’t gone to as good a high school as I have, and have to deal with incompetent teachers. However, even in such a situation, it’s on you to take personal responsibility for your own life. You know you have this test, so study for it.

And I know a lot of people think the exam discriminates against students whose first language isn’t English. But since English is the primary language in schools here in the U.S., it’s on the student to learn it, however he or she can. Again, it’s all about personal responsibility. To do well here, you need to know English. Not everything is always going to be translated.

Judge Freedman’s decision to block California’s exit exam gives students yet another cop out. A high school diploma shouldn’t just be given out, it should be earned.