Students, parents file lawsuit over California exit exam

SF Gate ^ | Wednesday, February 8, 2006 | JULIET WILLIAMS

[steel_resolve]

A group of high school seniors and their parents filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the state Department of Education and school Superintendent Jack O'Connell, claiming the California high school exit exam is illegal and discriminatory.

Lead attorney Arturo Gonzalez said the lawsuit likely will expand to represent tens of thousands of students who have met all local requirements to graduate except passing both parts of the test.

[steel_resolve]

Ahhh Mexifornia, your sons and daughters can't pass the exam because none of them can speak English. Swirling the drain...

[Mears]

What a bunch of damned crybabies. No wonder the US educational system is falling behind others.

[CROSSHIGHWAYMAN]

Vote for Pedro

[KarlInOhio]

"How would you like to be tested in Armenian if you don't know Armenian?"

Well, I wouldn't expect to get an Armenian high school diploma without speaking the language.

[SF Republican]

met all local requirements to graduate except passing both parts of the test - oh that rich, I meet all of the requirements to be a millionaire expect I ain't got no money

[Ben Mugged]

This is why the standard for Army training manuals had to be reduced in reading grade level to that equal to a comic book. The Army no longer produces technical manuals, they create illustrated comic books.

[BubbaTheRocketScientist]

oh that rich, I meet all of the requirements to be a millionaire expect I ain't got no money

Well, you need to find somebody to sue so you can get you some money, chief!

[bill1952]

How dare they have exams in High School??

[Condor51]

***How would you like to be tested in Armenian if you don't know Armenian?"**

gee.. I guess I wouldn't.

Then again I wouldn't illegally sneak into Armenia, go to their schools for 13 years LIKE YOUR CLIENT admits, you a##hole, and then demand a diploma when I fail Armenian.

[Iwo Jima]

I totally agree with California exit exams! Don't let them out of there to come to Texas if they can't pass a battery of tests (including confirmed voting record).

[conservative physics]

how dare the state demand proof that you actually learned something from the unionized schools!

It is your God given entitlement to get a diploma regardless of how little you actually learned or how many fake A's you got for just showing up to class.

[Ben Mugged]

PROPOSAL: HANDBOOK FOR THE M-16A2 RIFLE The following is a proposal to develop a handbook that will cover the operation and maintenance of the M-16A2 rifle. This proposal contains information on the contents of the proposed manual, the audience level we are assuming, our schedule to complete this project, our costs and charges, and our qualifications to produce a high-quality finished handbook. Audience and Purpose The handbook will be written primarily to purchasers but may also be used by gunsmiths, gun enthusiasts, the military, gun clubs, and anyone else wishing to train people in operation and maintenance of this rifle. No technical knowledge about firearms on the readers' part will be assumed. It will assume that readers have never used any firearm previously. Also, we will develop the handbook at the standard 8th-grade reading level.

[ThanhPhero]

An equal education means an equal certificate, regardless of grades, effort, talent and all those other racist accouterments.

[Michael.SF.]

she ... has been unable to pass the English section. "I have been working really hard to go to college," Valenzuela

I don't see a problem here. She can still go to college.

[FoxInSocks]

Liliana Valenzuela, a plaintiff and a senior at Richmond High School in the San Francisco Bay area, has a 3.84 grade-point average and is 12th in her class of 413, according to the lawsuit. She said she passed the math portion of the test on her first try but has been unable to pass the English section.

How can she be in the top 5 percent of the class but not pass a tenth-grade English test which requires only a 60 percent to pass? With a 3.84 GPA, I'm sure she got A's or B's in English every quarter.

"We'll have to find some way to teach everybody English, including those who just come into the country from another country," he said.

One way to learn English is by paying attention at school, not just mustering up a passable attendance record. There is absolutely no shortage of funds or programs for people that really want to learn English as a second language, or whatever it's called nowadays.

"Otherwise, it makes no sense. How would you like to be tested in Armenian if you don't know Armenian?"

If I had lived in Armenia for 13 years and had tried to graduate from an Armenian school, I wouldn't have any problem with it at all.

[stylin19a]

"Many students in California have not been given a fair opportunity to learn the material on the exam," Gonzalez said. "These are good kids who have worked hard for 13 years to pass their courses."...

Liliana Valenzuela, a plaintiff and a senior at Richmond High School in the San Francisco Bay area, has a 3.84 grade-point average and is 12th in her class of 413, according to the lawsuit. She said she passed the math portion of the test on her first try but has been unable to pass the English section.

Is English a requirement in California ?
Strange things are hap-en-ning

[fuquadukie]

Also, we will develop the handbook at the standard 8th-grade reading level.

See Bad Guy.
Point to Bad Guy.
Pull Trigger.
Repeat.

[PUGACHEV]

Gee, maybe to prove their point the unhappy students should choose some attorney to argue their case who couldn't pass the bar because he didn't speak or read English well enough.

[DumpsterDiver]

What a bunch of damned crybabies.

No kidding.

California's exam tests 10th-grade English, ninth-grade math and level-one algebra. Students need to answer 60 percent of the questions correctly to pass each section.

Liliana Valenzuela, a plaintiff and a senior at Richmond High School, has a 3.84 grade-point average and is 12th in her class of 413, according to the lawsuit. She said she passed the math portion of the test on her first try but has been unable to pass the English section.

"I have been on the honor roll for the last four years. ... I really wanted to wear my cap and gown."

She's a senior, has a 3.84 grade-point average, is 12th in her class of 413, has been on the honor roll for the last four years and yet cannot get a 60% on a 10th-grade English exam?

Pffft.

[TightyRighty]

The local newspaper gave a sampling of the test in their paper - you would have to be and idiot with half a brain NOT to pass it. My sister, who had to take the test said they give it to you every year while your in high school and once you pass - don't have to take it again. A kid they interviewed in the paper said it wasn't "fair" to English as a second language students. Cry me a freak'n river!