Exit exam results see thousands left behind, mostly minorities

By Leonel Sanchez
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

1:10 p.m. August 23, 2007

More than 55,000 California high school seniors are in danger of not graduating because they have not passed the state-required high school exit exam, including more than 3,000 students in San Diego County, according to state education officials.

The overwhelming majority of them are poor, black, Latino, English learners or special education students, calling further attention to the achievement gap that persists in California public schools today.

“We have an achievement gap. It's real. It's stark and it needs to be addressed,â€