Under new law, thousands who failed high school exit exam in California will be awarded diplomas

On Wednesday, California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signed a bill that will require school districts to award diplomas to thousands of people who met all of their high school requirements but one.

SB 172 takes effect in January, and will ensure that those who failed the California High School Exit Exam in 2004 or later but met all other graduation requirements will receive their diplomas, the San Jose Mercury News reports. The bill also suspends the exam as a graduation requirement for current freshmen, sophomores, and juniors in high school. People who failed the exam could take it again after they left high school, as long as they were enrolled in community college or adult school. The California Department of Education does not keep track of who passed the exam after high school, but does know that from 2006 to 2014, 32,000 students failed to pass while in high school.

The exam, which tests proficiency in 8th grade math and 10th grade English, was established in 2004, and became mandatory for graduation in 2006. Recently, educators argued that the test was outdated, as students are now learning Common Core standards. Chris Funk, superintendent of San Jose's East Side Union High School District, told the Mercury News the exam "never had the coherence we need in a state accountability system. I'm happy that it was dropped."

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