Local students best state, county

For the third straight year, the Newport-Mesa Unified School District has outperformed both the state and county on the California High School Exit Exam.

On Tuesday, state Supt. Jack O’Connell released the exam results for the 2005-06 school year. The test, which recently became a graduation requirement, is administered every year to sophomores, juniors and seniors. Students need to pass the exam only once, and the majority do so in the 10th grade.

Over the last year, 72% of Newport-Mesa test-takers passed the math portion of the test, and 74% passed English. The totals exceeded those for Orange County, where 70% of students completed math and 69% completed English, and the state, where the numbers were 59% and 61%, respectively.

“It’s nice to see that we are above both the state and county averages,” Newport-Mesa Supt. Jeffrey Hubbard said. “It’s gratifying, and it says some good things about our district. We want to make sure every child passes that test.”

The percentages of Newport-Mesa students passing the math and English tests have dropped slightly over the last two years, due to an increased number of students taking the exam. The county and state have seen similar patterns.

Still, Newport-Mesa remained ahead of the curve, with nearly all its special education students, English-learners, low-income students and others surpassing the county, state or both. This year, nearly half of the district’s special education students passed the English portion of the exit exam, compared to less than one-quarter around the state.

The highest-scoring group in Newport-Mesa consisted of former English-learner students who had been reclassified as fluent in the language; 98% passed the English exam this year; 94% aced math.

Peggy Anatol, Newport-Mesa’s assessment director, said she expected the overall percentages to rise in the coming years as the number of test-takers leveled off. In addition, she noted, the opening of the Early College High School in Newport Beach would provide a new group of ambitious students.

“I think the kind of kid who applied for that kind of school is very intense on studying,” Anatol said.

O’Connell said the state would not have numbers on how many students had passed both portions of the test until October.

HOW THEY COMPARE

A look at the percentage of local students passing the California High School Exit Exam compared to other county and state numbers.

School

Math

English

Back Bay High School ...

34%

52%

Corona del Mar High School ...

92%

94%

Costa Mesa High School ...

66%

68%

Estancia High School ...

62%

62%

Monte Vista High School ...

34%

55%

Newport Harbor High School ...

79%

79%

Newport-Mesa district ...

72%

74%

Orange County ...

70%

69%

State ...

59%

61%