The figures were in line with results from recent years.
Roughly one-third of students who do not pass as a sophomore go on to pass the exam in their junior or senior years.
“I’m very pleased to know we are getting good scores in the 10th grade,” Glendale Unified School District Board of Education President Mary Boger said.
“We find that those students who have still not passed the [exam] tend to be our English-language learners, who have not been with us long enough to be proficient in English.”
Burbank scores improved slightly compared to last year, with 90% of 10th-graders passing the English section of the exam, and 80% passing the math portion, representing a 1% increase in both categories.
While every student must pass the exam to earn a diploma, a recent state budget agreement exempts students with learning disabilities from the requirement.
“The purpose of the exam is to ensure students leave high school with a minimum level of English and math skills,” state Supt. Jack O’Connell said Tuesday in announcing the results. “Our responsibility is to make sure high school graduates are ready for the rigors that certainly lie ahead in college and the workplace.”
O’Connell repeated his position that exempting students with learning disabilities from the exit exam requirement leaves them out of the accountability system, reducing the attention and resources they deserve.
But Boger contended the change was a positive one, and said she knew of one family who would likely welcome the change.
“We have special education kids who do all of their classwork and course work and because they’re unable to pass the exit exam, they are denied a diploma,” she said. “If that means this young man will be able to graduate, I’m very happy about that.”
