For administrators and educators in the Burbank and Glendale Unified school districts, the ruling could leave them in limbo yet again.
"Let me know when the merry-go-round stops," said Gregory Franklin, Glendale Unified School District Assistant Supt. of Educational Services.
The exit exam was first intended to become a requirement for the graduating class of 2004. The State Board of Education, however, postponed the requirement until 2006 because of low passing rates across the state.
"I feel like I'm getting jockeyed back and forth," said John Burroughs High School Principal Emilio Urioste. "We're the ones that end up giving inconsistent messages to our students and parents."
Students at Burroughs have been taking the exam very seriously, Urioste said. Even their graduation ceremony has taken on new importance in light of the exam, he said.
In the past few months both districts have decided to grant seniors who have not passed the exam by graduation, but have fulfilled all other graduation requirements, a certificate of completion. Reversing the policy should not be difficult, Franklin said.
"I think it's a bigger problem not for logistics but for a consistent message to kids as to what matters," Franklin said. "The high school exit exam is one of the few standardized tests at the secondary level that kids take seriously."
The ruling comes at a time when students across the state are taking the exam ? the last chance to pass for many seniors.
"We'd be doing a disservice to our students if we didn't go ahead with the administration of the exam," said Burbank Unified School District Deputy Supt. for Instructional Services Alexis Sheehy.
