> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Making the grade means walking the line
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/making-the-grade-means-walking-the-line/
- Published: 2006-01-04T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T17:01:25.000Z
- Author: Ryan Hyatt
- Tags: Education, Malibu, #archive-import

*Students have more than one shot at high school exit exam*

Elected leaders are set to decide on Thursday whether students who fail the state’s high school exam should be allowed to walk with their fellow classmates at graduation.

The board of education of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District is expected to decide whether or not seniors scheduled to graduate with the class of 2006 — but who have failed the California High School Exit Examination — should be allowed to walk with their classmates in June.

According to staff’s recommendation, those students, instead of receiving a diploma, would walk with their classmates and receive a certificate of attendance that indicates they have completed other graduation requirements.

The proposal, if approved, is expected to affect between 60 to 80 Santa Monica high school students per year, officials said.

The exit exam has two parts that include an English and mathematics section, according to staff.

Special education students who pass the test with modifications may receive a waiver that would allow them to graduate, staff said. Earlier this year, the SMMUSD approved waivers for 12 seniors who qualified.

However, dozens of other students may not qualify for the exemptions, officials said. Many of them may have made substantial efforts to overcome educational hurdles over the years, but they still fail the exam. Some might have passed the math section but failed English, and vice versa, officials said.

Not recognizing such students in some capacity at graduation may do more harm than good, officials said.

“The impact of this test is that you can’t get into a four-year college out of high school, and for those who do not go on to college at all, they may have trouble getting a job without a high school diploma,” said Oscar de la Torre, a school board member. “We don’t want to categorize or standardize these students any more than we have to, and we want a program with the most positive outcome for the students.”

Current seniors first took the exit exam in March or May of 2004\. Students who did not pass both sections had two additional opportunities to take the test last year and will have three opportunities this year, staff said.

There also have been several programs put into place to help students pass the test. The state has provided each 10th grade student a test study guide. Students also a take a pre-test in ninth and 10th grade which also targets students for intervention if needed, the staff report said.

Students who fail the exit exam would only be able to walk with their classmates if they met all other graduation requirements.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 4, 2006.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/010406.pdf?ref=smdp.com)