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Adult school student achievement on the California High School Exit Examination: Are adult schools ready for the challenge?

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Adult school student achievement on the California High School Exit Examination: Are adult schools ready for the challenge?

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Content ADULT SCHOOL STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT ON THE CALIFORNIA HIGH
SCHOOL EXIT EXAMINATION: ARE ADULT SCHOOLS
READY FOR THE CHALLENGE?
by
Corey David Willenberg
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION
May 2005
Copyright 2005 Corey David Willenberg
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UMI Number: 3180326
Copyright 2005 by
Willenberg, Corey David
All rights reserved.
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ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My experience as a graduate student at the University of Southern
California has been very enjoyable. I am glad that I had the opportunity to
become a member of the “Trojan Family” and develop great friendships with my
colleagues in the Sacramento Cohort.
I wish to thank Dr. Dennis Hocevar for being the champion of my cohort’s
cause and being vigilante in helping us finish what we started and able to realize
the dream of being called Doctor. I will be forever grateful.
Thanks are also due to Dr. Carl Cohn who convinced me that being a
school leader is an honorable and worthwhile vocation and the best job in
education, and Dr. Glenn Thomas for convincing me that I was able to do
graduate studies at a very high level and especially at the University of Southern
California.
Last but not least, I wish to thank my family for their love and support
through the whole degree program, and I especially want to thank my future wife,
Christine, who is my biggest supporter and that is one of the reasons I appreciate
her and love her. Thank you all!
Fight On!
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.................................................................................ii
LIST OF TABLES.................................................................. v
ABSTRACT...........................................................................................................vi
Chapter
1. PROBLEM ANALYSIS AND DESCRIPTION..........................................1
Definition of Term s ............................................................................3
Analysis of Performance Gaps............... 7
Problem Analysis ,............................................................................9
Purpose of Study.................................................................................... 15
Limitations................. 17
Delimitations........................................................................................... 17
Assumptions ................................................................................18
2. LITERATURE REVIEW..........................................................................19
Adult Education in California.................................... 19
Examinations as the Only Assessment of Student
Achievement...............................................................................22
The Elements That Make an Effective School ............................28
3. METHODOLOGY..................................................... 32
Research Questions...............................................................................32
Participants............... 33
Instrumentation ...... 35
Procedures................................................ 36
Data Processing and Analysis................................... 36
4. RESULTS.....................; ......................................................................... 38
Where to Start ......................................................................... 38
Lookout Adult School..............................................................................39
Paradise City Adult Education..............................................................42
Golden Adult School.............................................................................. 44
Grape Adult Education.......................................................................... 47
Similarities Between the Adult Schools that Did Not
Have Success............................................... 52
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iv
Common CAHSEE Concerns From All Administrators
in This Study ................... 55
5. SUMMARY, RECOMMENDATIONS, AND CONCLUSIONS 58
Summary ......................... 58
Recommendations......................................................... 63
Conclusions............................................................................................ 66
SELECTED REFERENCES................................................ 67
APPENDICES
A INTERVIEW GUIDE FOR ADULT STUDENT
ACHIEVEMENT ON THE CALIFORNIA HIGH SCHOOL
EXIT EXAMINATION DURING 2002-2003..........................................72
B. SCHOOL SURVEY..................................................... 75
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V
LIST OF TABLES
1. Adult Students Taking the CAHSEE in 2002-2003...................................... 7
2. Students Affiliated with a Minority Group................................ • ......................8
3. Ethnic Make-Up of Adult Schools................................ 21
4. Each Schools’ ADA Information and the CAHSEE Data............................34
5. Comparison of Four Schools Who Had Success....................................... 51
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ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to identify factors that interfere with adult
student achievement on the California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE).
This study looked at California adult education students, specifically adult
students attending California adult schools with an average daily attendance
between 400 and 700 and their success and/or lack of success on the CAHSEE.
For this study, 27 California adult schools with an average daily
attendance between 400 and 700 were selected. The CAHSEE data from the
California Department of Education for adult schools for the 2002-2003 school
year were analyzed. Several adult education administrators throughout
California were interviewed about the CAHSEE and their school’s preparation for
the examination.
The main finding of this study was that most of the adult schools studied
did not adequately prepare students for the CAHSEE and many did not even
offer the CAHSEE. Of the few schools who were taking the CAHSEE seriously,
all had unacceptable pass rates on both the language arts and math CAHSEE
subtests.
In order for adult schools to improve student performance on the
CAHSEE, the following is recommended: adult schools need to (a) publish
disaggregated data regarding adult school performance on the CAHSEE; (b)
share successful strategies, particularly strategies that will help close the
achievement gap; (c) petition Educational Testing Services (ETS) to test multiple
times during a test administration day and to test more often throughout the
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school year; (d) mandate that students earn their Algebra and English credits in a
direct instruction classroom, rather than independent study; (e) use
disaggregated data to drive instruction and to implement remedial strategies; (f)
have high expectations for all students; (g) provide the instruction necessary for
all student to successfully pass both portions of the CAHSEE; (h) hire and retain
administrators who have strong instructional leadership skills; and (i) establish
visions for their schools that guarantee the instructional programs that will
prepare students to be successful on the CAHSEE.
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1
CHAPTER 1
PROBLEM ANALYSIS AND DESCRIPTION
Traditionally, students who do not have success in a comprehensive high
school attempt to complete their high school diploma through an adult school.
Adult schools in California primarily serve students over the age of 18. Students
under the age of 18 may enroll in adult schools if they meet adult education
criteria. Criteria in California for minors attending adult education requires a
student to either be a parent, pregnant, married or a high school dropout (Bauer,
1995, section 003.2).
Prior to the introduction of Content Standards in California, students could
decide to complete the requirements for a high school diploma in an easier place,
where they might have a better fit. Adult schools and other alternative schools
could assist students in earning their diploma at a slower pace, with materials not
commonly used in the regular comprehensive high school classroom, and in an
environment that commonly embraces students with differences. Most students
attending adult schools or continuation schools could fulfill the requirements for a
high school diploma in a non-traditional environment using elementary-schooi
and/or middle-school level instructional materials.
California schools, grades K-12 and adult schools, have had to adjust
their instruction and materials to meet the rigorous California standards. Schools
have also had to implement instruction that prepares students to pass the
California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE). With rigorous new state
standards and a high school graduation exit examination, schools are forced to
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align their textbooks, instructional materials and their instructional practices with
the California Content Standards. No longer can teachers pick and choose the
materials, they will use in their classroom, as well as the topics they will cover in
their classrooms each year. School culture also had to change to reflect the •
attitude of both the teachers and students that all students can learn and can
meet high expectations.
With a new focus on standards-based education in all California schools,
some school cultures will have to be invigorated to prepare students with more
rigorous academic standards. Some teachers will be forced to change their
teaching styles as well as have most of the curriculum being taught in their
classrooms being dictated by school administration and board policy.
Teacher and administrator attitudes are critical factors in assisting
students in becoming successful in the classroom as well as enjoying school. If
teachers and administrators demonstrate negative feelings towards standards-
based education and high-stakes testing, then student success, at most schools,
will be minimal.
Students at all grade levels, in most instances, will reflect a teacher’s
attitudes and beliefs towards testing and standards. If teachers have a negative
view of the academic requirements in California, then students and parents will
also demonstrate a negative feeling towards standards that will affect their
acceptance.
With the introduction of the CAHSEE in all California public high schools,
students that currently seek out educational alternatives, other than a :
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comprehensive high school, will not find much difference. With the advent of the
CAHSEE, many changes are ahead for all public schools that offer students the
opportunity to earn a high school diploma. Teachers will be required to offer
rigorous academic classes in mathematics and English Language-Arts (ELA) that
will prepare students for the newer academic expectations in California schools.
Teachers are also required to use instructional materials that are approved by
the State of California as well as their school districts. Teachers will also lose
their ability to pick and choose what areas they will cover in their classrooms
throughout the year.
Student success on the CAHSEE will be dependent on approved
instructional materials, rigorous standards-based academic standards, and a
positive attitude by students, teachers, administrators and parents that the new
direction of schools in California is a very good thing.
Definition of Terms
In this dissertation, the following terms are used:
Adult School: A school established by a unified or high school district that offers
educational services to adults.
Adult: A person 18 years of age or older or a person who is not concurrently
enrolled in a regular high school program, or a student under the age of
18 who is a parent, pregnant and/or married.
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Average Daily Attendance (ADA): The basic unit for computing the income
produced by full-time equivalent student attendance. Five hundred
twenty-five hours of attendance equals one adult unit of ADA.
California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE): Test administered
beginning in a student’s sophomore year that tests student proficiency in
ELA and mathematics.
California High School Exit Examination ELA portion: The ELA portion of the
exam covers word analysis, reading comprehension, literary response
and analysis, writing strategies and writing conventions.
California High School Exit Examination math portion: Refers to the mathematics
portion of the CAHSEE. The math portion of the exam covers probability
and statistics, number sense, algebra and functions, measurement and
geometry, and Algebra 1.
Cap: Limit put on each adult program’s annual ADA by the Legislature after the
passage of Proposition 13 and generally adjusted for growth each year by
the Budget Act of 1979, Chapter 259, Item 338.
Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment System (CASAS): The
Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment System that is commonly
used to assess literacy and math skills with adult students. CASAS is the
approved test by the State of California to assess adult learners.
Dropout: Jacob’s definition of a dropout is used, which is, a student not being
regularly enrolled in school (Jacob, 2002, p. 105).
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The CAHSEE was established in 1999 by Senate Bill 2X (Garcia &
Calhoun, 2002, p. 2). The focus of the bill was to insure that high school
graduates can demonstrate competency in reading, writing, and math (Garcia &
Calhoun, 2002). These requirements apply to all students regardless if they are
attending a comprehensive high school, alternative school, and/or an adult
school (California Department of Education, 2004, p. 1).
The CAHSEE has two parts: mathematics and English-Language Arts
(ELA). The mathematics portion of the CAHSEE addresses state standards in
grades 6, 7 and Algebra 1 ,. The ELA portion of the CAHSEE addresses state
Content Standards through 10th grade (California Department of Education, 2004,
P -1).
The State of California requires all public high school students take and
pass the CAHSEE. Beginning July 1, 2005, all students earning a high school
diploma in the State of California will also need to pass the ELA portion and
mathematics portion of the CAHSEE (California Department of Education, 2004,
p.1).
School administrators are charged with making sure teachers have the
instructional materials and professional background to teach the California
Content Standards. Teachers are charged with making sure that their classroom
practices and curriculum assist students in passing the CAHSEE. All public
school students will be required to learn specific concepts and standards in order
to meet the 2005 California graduation requirements.
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This dissertation looked at the success rate on the CAHSEE for adult
school students attending medium-sized California adult schools during the
2002-2003 school year. The CAHSEE data for 27 comparably sized selected
adult schools during the 2002-2003 school year were also reviewed. Possible
explanations for the performance gaps and possible solutions to close the
performance gaps and increase student success on the CAHSEE is also
discussed herein.
I am the Assistant Principal of Golden Adult School in Golden, California.
Golden is a small community approximately 70 miles north of Sacramento. In
2002-2003 Golden Adult School had an ADA cap of 595 students. Initially the
focus of this dissertation was going to look only at the CAHSEE data for Golden
Adult School students during 2002-2003 and determine the cause of
performance gaps. As the CAHSEE data was researched, the question came up
as how other medium-sized adult schools performed on the CAHSEE during
2002-2003. Twenty-seven medium-sized adult schools in California were added
to this research. CAHSEE data was examined, as well as interviews conducted
at some schools which had students successfully pass the CAHSEE. The data
gathered through interviews and observations will improve the practice at my
school which will assist all stakeholders in improving student achievement and,
specifically, student performance on the CAHSEE.
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Analysis of Performance Gaps
Looking at the 2002-2003 the CAHSEE data for 27 comparably sized
adult schools, 9 of the 27 schools administered the examination. Eighteen of the
27 schools in the comparison group did not administer the-CAHSEE during the
2002-2003 school year (California Department of Education, n.d. a).
When analyzing the CAHSEE data for adult schools, it appears there are
seven glaring performance gaps. First, is the low number of adult students
statewide who successfully passed both the math and ELA portions of the
CAHSEE (California Department of Education, n.d. a). Table 1 shows the total
number of adult students in the State of California that took and passed each
portion of the CAHSEE in 2002-2003.
Table 1
Adult Students Taking the CAHSEE in 2002-2003
Subject Number Tested Number Passed Percent
ELA 2,463 1,402 57
Math 2,689 635 24
Source: California Department of Education, nd., a.
Second, even though at the time the CAHSEE was a state graduation
requirement for the class of 2004, very few adult students were tested during the
2002-2003 school year, Third, minority students tested during 2002-2003 were
not successful on either portion of the. Table 2 shows the number of adult
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students affiliated with a minority group that took the CAHSEE during the 2002-
2003 school year and each groups’ level of success on the exam (California
Department of Education, n.d. a).
Table 2
Students Affiliated with a Minority Group
Subject
African-
American
American-
Indian Asian Filipino Hispanic
Pacific-
Islander White Other
Took
ELA
31 6 18 6 136 1 91 26
Passed
ELA
18 0 6 0 65 0 57 0
Took
Math
35 7 20 4 164 2 108 28
Passed
Math
3 0 4 0 25 0 29 0
Source: California Department of Education
Fourth, the largest minority group served by most adult schools in
California is Hispanic. Very few Hispanic students tested during 2002-2003
passed the CAHSEE. Fifth, in 2002-2003, when comparing 27 comparably sized
adult schools throughout California, 635 of 2,689 students or 19% of the students
tested passed the math portion of the CAHSEE). Of the 2,463 adult students in
the comparison group taking the ELA portion of the CAHSEE during 2002-2003,
1,402 or 57% passed. Sixth, is a large achievement gap between student
success on the ELA portion of the CAHSEE and student success on the math
portion of the CAHSEE. The failure for a high percentage of students to
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successfully pass both portions of the CAHSEE is a statewide problem. Seven, if
the CAHSEE were a graduation requirement during the 2002-2003 school year,
only a handful of adult education students throughout California would have
graduated (California Department of Education, n.d. a).
The CAHSEE is a new phenomenon. The implementation of the
CAHSEE is forcing schools to look at staff expertise, professional development,
classroom instruction, instructional materials, and staff/student acceptance. By
2006, full implementation of the CAHSEE will create many questions for schools
to solve. Adult schools in California will be expected to implement the CAHSEE
requirement by July 1, 2005 (California Department of Education, n.d. b).
Problem Analysis
According to Schmoker in his book Results, “We typically hesitate to use
data as signposts to assess where we are headed” (Schmoker, 1996, p. 33).
This is the case with the CAHSEE. Most adult schools are not using data as a
signpost to assess direction. The CAHSEE is an important requirement for high
school graduates in the State of California. Students who fail to pass the
examination will not earn a diploma.
According to Clark and Estes (2002), there are three critical factors that
must be examined during the analysis process. Those factors are: (a) people’s
knowledge and skills, (b) people’s motivation to achieve goals, and (c)
organizational barriers. When looking at California adult school CAHSEE data, it
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10
appears that all three causes of performance gaps are prevalent (Clark & Estes,
2002, p. 43).
It appears that the factors in each of the following three areas, as
illustrated by Clark and Estes’ factors, have created performance gaps for
California adult school students in relationship to the CAHSEE:
People’s Knowledge and Skill
■ Teachers Content Knowledge: Adult schoolteachers usually teach
multiple subjects and do not have a college degree in English and/or
mathematics.
■ Highly Qualified: Adult schoolteachers will not be held to No Child Left
Behind’s requirement that all teachers will be deemed “highly qualified.”
People’s Motivation to Achieve Goals
■ Student Motivation: Most adult students are not motivated to take the
CAHSEE or they fear failing the exam.
■ Teacher Motivation: Teachers in most adult schools do not value or
appreciate what student success or failure on the CAHSEE means to
their school.
* Student Achievement: Minority students statewide are not passing the
CAHSEE. Statewide, students are not having success on the CAHSEE
at the levels required by No Child Left Behind legislation.
■ Administrator Direction: Many adult school administrators have not been
motivated to administer the CAHSEE since they believe that it will be
postponed again.
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Organizational Barriers
■ Viable Curriculum: Most adult schools have not aligned their curriculum
with the California Content Standards.
■ Instructional Practice: Most adult schools use Independent Study, or
laboratory classroom practices instead of direct-instruction.
■ Minority Students: Adult minority students have not had much success
on passing either portion of the CAHSEE.
■ Transient Population: Many adult students enter and exit programs
numerous times before completing their educational goals.
By looking at the three areas, people’s knowledge and skill, people’s
motivation to achieve goals, and organizational barriers adult schools can
develop instructional strategies and remedial strategies to assist adult students in
completing rigorous academic curriculum and pass the CAHSEE.
According to Day-Vines and Patton (2003), an important goal of No Child
Left Behind is to narrow the achievement gap between minority and non-minority
students (Fusarelli, 2004, p. 73). When examining the CAHSEE data from the
2002-2003 school year, it is apparent that California adult schools, especially the
schools in the comparison group, are not narrowing the achievement gap
between minority students and non-minority students (California Department of
Education, n.d. a). Adult schools in the State of California need to develop
strategies to assist all students, especially those belonging to minority groups to
be successful on the CAHSEE.
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12
Using Bryson’s (1995, p. 94) Strategic Planning model or Strengths,
Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) model, adult schools can
analyze performance gaps in student achievement, specifically pertaining to the
CAHSEE. SWOT will allow adult schools to design instructional programs that
capitalize on their strengths. The strength of adult schools in California is that
they give students a second chance to earn a high school diploma in a non
threatening environment. The weakness of adult schools in California is that
most of them have hesitated to implement rigorous academic standards until they
are forced to do so. Another weakness exhibited by adult schools is inaccurate
data presented to state and federal agencies that gauge the proficiency of adult
schools.
Furthermore, adult school students, especially students of minority
groups, performed very poorly on the CAHSEE (California Department of
Education, n.d. a). During the 2002-2003 school year, 2,463 adult students
statewide took the CAHSEE in ELA, and 1,402 passed the exam (California
Department of Education/2002-2003 Demographic Summary Data). During the
2002-2003 school year, 2,689 adult students in California took the math portion
of the CAHSEE, while only 635 students passed the exam (California
Department of Education/2002-2003 Demographic Summary Data).
Opportunities for teachers abound in adult schools, especially in this new
era of improved accountability. Teachers in adult schools in California have the
ability to work with students of all backgrounds and educational foundations.
Adult schoolteachers also have the opportunity to work with smaller groups of
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13
students on a daily basis, which gives them more time and attention to assist
students with meeting their educational goals.
Opportunities are limitless in California’s adult schools for students.
Students can learn academic skills as well as leam career and technical skills.
Students often elect to finish their high school education in an adult school
because of lower student-to-teacher ratio. A student's education can also be
designed to match up with their personal goals and abilities.
The CAHSEE has set the bar in regards to what is academically expected
of students. Teachers have to restructure the way they teach students and are
careful in selecting the topics they cover and opt not to cover in their classrooms.
One difficulty students face when taking the CAHSEE is that students often do
not take the examination seriously. Furthermore, often students wait until the last
minute to take the exam and fail it so they cannot graduate. Students face
frustration when they take the CAHSEE on numerous occasions and cannot pass
both portions. Many goals of teachers, students and schools can be achieved by
reviewing the literature around effective schools and the elements of effective
schools.
Using Marzano’s (2000) model towards creating effective schools, all
schools, especially adult schools, can develop strategies to assist students with
passing the CAHSEE. Marzano’s model for school improvement that has three
components. Teacher-level factors, school-level factors and student-level factors
all contribute to an “effective school” (Marzano, 2000, p. 39). Teacher-level
factors encompass instruction, curriculum design, and classroom management.
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14
School-level factors: include the following items: cooperation, school climate,
monitoring, content coverage, time, parental involvement, pressure to achieve,
and school leadership. Student-level factors are socioeconomic status, prior
knowledge, interest, and aptitude (Marzano, 2000, p. 39).
After reviewing the 2002-2003 the CAHSEE data for adult schools in
California, it was concluded that the following items are glaring problems for adult
school students and their success on the CAHSEE:
■ Low numbers of all students passing either portion of the CAHSEE.
■ Lack of motivation for students to be successful on the CAHSEE.
■ Lack of student, teacher and/or administrator buy-in on the
importance of the CAHSEE.
■ Lack of mechanisms for remediation of students who fail the
CAHSEE.
■ Lack of mechanisms for preparing students to take the CAHSEE.
■ Adult school students usually do not complete their educational goals
the first time they begin their educational program.
■ Professional development to increase teacher content knowledge.
■ Testing regulations outlined by Educational Testing Service (ETS) and
local school districts.
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15
Purpose of Study
The purpose of this study was to identify factors that interfere with adult
student achievement on the CAHSEE. Further, this dissertation identifies
strategies being implemented that increase adult student success on the
CAHSEE.
This study looked at California adult education students, specifically adult
students attending California adult schools with an ADA between 400 and 700
and their success and/or lack of success on the CAHSEE. Many adult schools in
California administered the CAHSEE during the 2002-2003 school year. Out of
2,689 adult students in the entire State of California taking the mathematics
portion of the CAHSEE, only 635, or 24%, of students passed. Out of 2,463
adult students in the State of California who took the ELA portion of the
CAHSEE, 1,402, or 57%, of students passed (California Department of
Education, n.d. a).
Adult education in the State of California is very diverse. Some schools
only have 37 ADA and have English as a Second Language (ESL) programs,
Adult Basic Education (ABE) programs and Adult Secondary Education (ASE)
programs. Other schools have to 67,000 ADA programs that have a wealth of
basic education classes, as well as career and technical training programs. It is
difficult to study the effect implementation of the CAHSEE has had on all adult
schools in California because of the difference in school size, program diversity,
and the school’s capacity to administer the test.
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For this study, aduit schools throughout the State were selected that were
between 400 ADA and 700 ADA. CAHSEE data from the California Department
of Education for adult schools for the 2002-2003 school year was analyzed.
Three adult education administrators were interviewed regarding their
preparation of students for the CAHSEE, the primary type of instructional
program used, the number of students tested from each program, the number of
students at their school that passed the ELA portion of the CAHSEE, the number
of students passing the mathematics portion of the CAHSEE, the number of
students passing both portions of the CAHSEE, the number of times the
CAHSEE was administered during 2002-2003, the reasons they may not have
administered the CAHSEE, and the remedial strategies the administrator and
school are implementing to assist students with passing the CAHSEE. Adult
schools in the comparison group were observed that tested large numbers of
students and had some students pass one or both parts of the CAHSEE.
By using the CAHSEE data from the California Department of Education,
questioning and observing medium-sized adult schools about their practices and
procedures regarding the CAHSEE, using the research for effective schools and
student achievement, and looking at adult schools that had positive student
performance on the CAHSEE, A list was developed of common performance
gaps among adult schools, as well as a list of strategies that, combined with the
research, will assist adult schools in narrowing the achievement gap for adult
students.
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17
In the remainder of this dissertation strategies are explored that aduit
schools in California are using to assist students in passing the CAHSEE. Using
pieces from Bryson’s (1995) SWOT model, Marzano, Pickering, & Pollock’s
(2001) School, Teacher, and Student Effect model, Clark and Estes’ (2002)
model for analyzing and correcting performance gaps, as well as reviewing
literature and research, a well thought out plan was developed to assist adult
students to pass the CAHSEE.
Limitations
The CAHSEE data collected in this study is for 27 California adult schools
for the 2002-2003 school year. The CAHSEE was a graduation requirement for
students who earned a high school diploma beginning July 1, 2003, but some
adult schools chose not to administer the examination during the 2002-2003
school year. The interviews, observations, and questionnaires presented in this
study were developed and conducted between August 2004 and October 2004.
Delimitations
Although much of the data collected during this study would be useful to
all schools who will be administering the CAHSEE, this study was designed to
help identify and close the performance gaps in medium-sized adult schools and
adult education students in the State of California; therefore, large and small
adult schools were not studied during the course of this dissertation.
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Assumptions
It was assumed that all adult schools in California will administer the
CAHSEE during the 2004-2005 school year since the exam will be a mandatory
graduation requirement commencing July 1, 2005.
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19
CHAPTER 2
■ LITERATURE REVIEW
Why would a study on adult student achievement on the California High
School Exit Examination (CAHSEE) be significant? According to the 2000
Census figures, approximately 5 million adults over the age of 25 lack a high
school diploma. The lack of a high school diploma in today’s highly technical
world has serious consequences (Moore, 2004, et al., p. 32). The CAHSEE
could be a barrier for adults in achieving a high school diploma beginning July 1,
2005. In the remainder of this chapter, a brief history is given of adult education
in California, as well as a review the literature surrounding high-stakes testing,
high school exit exams and effective schools in order to develop a cohesive
strategy to assist adult schools in developing a plan of action for their students’
success on the CAHSEE.
Adult Education in California
To fully understand the performance gaps associated with the
implementation of the CAHSEE in adult schools, one must first have some
background and history of adult schools in California. Adult schools or evening
schools in California have been around since the last half of the 19th Century.
The Donahue Act in 1960 developed a master plan for higher education in
California and, as a result of this act, adult education has been administered
primarily by public school districts (De Cos, 2004, p. 22).
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On August 20,1964, President Lyndon Johnson signed into law, P. L.
88-42; Title II, Part B; Adult Basic Education. The purpose of this initial federal
program was to provide adult education for persons 18 years of age and older
who had not completed their high school education, and due to their lack of skills
in reading, writing, and arithmetic, created a substantial impairment of their ability
to obtain or retain employment. According to P. L. 88-42, the State education for
public elementary or secondary schools was primarily responsible for the
administration of adult education programs.
According to the Legislative Analysts Office in 1988, adult education
programs in California are intended to provide adults an opportunity “to acquire
the knowledge and skills necessary to participate effectively in the state’s
economy and to participate in courses designed to meet the particular needs of
local communities” (Moore et al., 2004, p. 27).
During 2001-2002, over one million adults were enrolled in an adult
education program in California. Of the roughly one million people enrolled in
adult education, 181,933 adult students in California were enrolled in a high
school diploma/GED instructional program (Moore et al., p. 26).
During 2001-2002, California adult schools served a variety of students
from different ethnic backgrounds. According to data collected from the
Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment System (CASAS), 535,461 Hispanic
students comprised 50% of adult school enrollment during 2001-2002 (De Cos,
2004, p. 29). A summary of the ethnic make-up of adult schools in California
during 2001-2002, is presented Table 3.
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Table 3
Ethnic Make-Up of Adult Schools
Ethnicity of California Adult School Students During 2001 -2002
Asian
African-
American Filipino Hispanic
Native-
American
Native-
Alaskan
Pacific-
Islander White
135,204 57,885 14,230 535,461 20,108 478 30,273 273,766
Source: De Cos, 2004.
Adult school students are often a transient population that may enter and
exit adult education programs multiple times before achieving their educational
goals (De Cos, 2004, p. 35). Since adult education programs are non-
compulsory, students that enter and exit educational programs many times
throughout their program will have gaps in skills required to pass exit
examinations like the CAHSEE.
A common myth is that adult education teachers do not need a teaching
credential to teach in adult schools. However, according to the Adult Education
Handbook for California, Section 300, adult schools can only count attendance of
students under the immediate control and supervision of a district employee with
a valid teaching credential (Bauer, 1995). Adult schools are also charged with
teaching their District’s Board adopted curriculum. According to No Child Left
Behind, teachers in adult education do not have to meet the requirements of
highly qualified as defined under No Child Left Behind (California Department of
Education, 2004, p. 14). Teachers choosing to work in adult schools could be
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22
viewed as “inadequate” when compared to their colleagues working in
comprehensive high schools and continuation schools.
Since adult schools in California are governed by the California
Department Education, and are under the jurisdiction of local public school
district, they are required to administer the CAHSEE and require successful
passage of the exam as a graduation requirement. The rest of this chapter
explores the literature surrounding exit examinations as a whole as well as high-
stakes testing and effective schools.
Examinations as the Only Assessment
of Student Achievement
High school graduation tests have become very popular nationwide over
the past two decades (Jacob, 2001, p. 99). The CAHSEE became law in the
State of California with the passage of SBX1 2 on January 19,1999 (SBX 1 2,
1999, the CAHSEE Bill). California was not the only state that required high
school students to take and pass examinations upon graduation from high
school. According to Garcia, the use of standardized tests as graduation
requirements emerged from the movement to hold schools accountable for
adequately preparing students for the workforce. The uses of standardized tests
have associated with effective educational reform, because they are reliable and
valid with large populations (Garcia, 2003, p. 431).
According to Achieve Inc., in their study entitled Do Graduation Tests
Measure Up? high school exit examinations are important because they allow
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23
states to set a “floor” of academic achievement for all students to ensure that
they meet minimum standards before earning a high school diploma. The
Achieve, Inc. report goes on to say that high school exit exams provide evidence
of achievement that is more comparable and aligned with standards rather than
Carnegie units or course grades alone (Achieve, Inc., 2004a, p. 7).
Assessments are tools that allows students to demonstrate their
knowledge and skill (Danielson, 2002, p. 90). When students, teachers, and
schools use assessment results they can provide direction for instruction and
certify mastery of a segment of the curriculum (Danielson, 2002, p. 90).
Assessment is an invaluable tool capable of letting schools know what is
working, what is not working, and how to adjust effort for improvement
(Schmoker, 1996, p. 31). Schmoker also believes that standardized tests are a
good first level of analysis for people wishing to improve their schools
(Schmoker, 1996, p. 77).
The use of graduation tests or exit examinations as high school
graduation requirements both have proponents and opponents for them.
Proponents believe that exit examinations are good tools in helping to raise
student achievement. Furthermore, proponents of graduation tests believe that
exams assist schools in focusing their goals. One of the other positives of exit
examinations are they provide both teachers and students with meaningful
incentives for achievement (Jacob, 2001, p. 99).
Critics of exit examinations or graduation tests believe they are
ineffective. Opponents of graduation tests believe such exams will increase the
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number of high school dropouts. Furthermore, critics of exit examinations
believe such exams force students and teachers to sacrifice higher order thinking
skills. Lastly, critics of graduation tests and/or exit examinations believe that
such tests will adversely affect minority students (Jacob, 2001, p. 99).
Specifically regarding the CAHSEE, AB 1609 requires that and an outside
evaluator to assess the extent to which the CAHSEE meets the requirements of
a standards-based graduation examination (Wise, Harris, Koger, Bacci, Ford,
Sipes, Sun, Koger, M, & Deatz, 2003, p. i). The Human Resources Research
organization, or HumRRO, secured the contract to evaluate the CAHSEE for the
first time in 2003. In the initial evaluation of the CAHSEE, HumRRO submitted
five general findings regarding the CAHSEE in their first report to the California
Department of Education (Wise, Harris, Koger, Bacci, Ford, et .al., 2003, p. 91).
HumRRO concluded that the CAHSEE met all of the test standards for use as a
graduation requirement. The HumRRO evaluators also concluded that the
CAHSEE has been a major factor in increasing coverage of the California
Content Standards at both the high school and middle-school levels and
furthermore concluded that the CAHSEE led to the development or improvement
of courses providing assistance to low-achieving students (Wise, Harris, Koger,
Bacci, Ford, et .al., 2003, p. 92). HumRRO concluded that many remedial
courses have only limited effectiveness in assisting students to master the
standards (Wise, Harris, Koger, Bacci, Ford, et. al., 2003, p. 93). Another finding
in the HumRRO report was that students lack prerequisite skills, motivation and
that parents may not be supportive of remedial strategies that may prevent them,
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from deriving benefits from remedial instruction (Wise, Harris, Koger, Bacci, Ford,
et. al., 2003, p. 93). The final finding in the HumRRO report is that research
suggests that the effectiveness of standards-based instruction will improve for
each succeeding class after the graduating class of 2004 (Wise, Harris, Koger,
Bacci, Ford, et. al., 2003, p. 94).
Other implications for California public school students regarding the
CAHSEE are that California has one of the most challenging exit exams in the
nation (Behm, 2001, p. 2). In Behm’s article CAHSEE-Did Our Kids Fail oris the
System a Failure? states that Texas does not include algebra, geometry,
statistics, or probability on the math portion of their exit examination (Behm,
2001, p. 2). Behm also discusses the ever-adjusting pass score for the
examination. He suggests that the pass score for the CAHSEE during 2001 was
60% for ELA and 55% for math. This creates questions of the consistency of
using the CAHSEE as an indicator of a student’s mastery of high school
curriculum (Behm, 2001, p. 4). In 2001 a student could pass the CAHSEE with a
55% or 60% and in 2004 a student would need a 70% to pass any portion of the
CAHSEE. Depending on when you took the CAHSEE would determine whether
or not you became a high school graduate.
A huge concern for schools is the ability for minority students and
economically disadvantaged students to pass the CAHSEE. A question which
has yet to be answered is “Can a single exam possibly address the diverse
needs of a state with ten major languages spoken in our schools” (Behm, 2001,
p. 6). In looking at Golden Adult School’s the CAHSEE data, none of the minority
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students taking the CAHSEE passed either portion in 2002-2003 (California
Department of Education, n.d. a). Schools are going to have to look at past
practice and determine ways to assist minority students to achieve in the
classroom.
Seven common threads kept evolving from the literature regarding exit
exams and/or high-stakes testing. Those were: (a) it is unfair to hinge the
outcome of an entire high school career on whether or not a student can pass a
single exam, (b) exit examinations are unfair to children who are not native-
English speakers (Garcia, 2003, p. 445), (c) schools and states need to look at
their capacity to raise performance with the need for more academic rigor
(Achieve, Inc., 2004a, p. 9), (d) should all learners be tested (Stapleman, 2000,
p. 4), (e) assessment can be used by schools and teachers to adjust instruction
and benchmark how students are doing (Danielson, 2002, p. 90; Schmoker,
1996, p. 31), (f) The CAHSEE meets the requirements of a high school exit
examination (Wise, Harris, Koger, Bacci, Ford, et. al., 2003, p. 91), and (g) the
CAHSEE will be the impetus for increasing the quality of standards-based
instruction in classrooms throughout California (Wise, Harris, Koger, Bacci, Ford,
et. al., 2003, p. 92).
Adult education has been in existence since the late 1890s. Adult
schools have been regulated and governed by public secondary school districts
since the 1960s. Adult schools do not have to insure that their teachers meet No
Child Left Behind’s “highly qualified” criteria. Adult education students in the
State of California are expected to take and pass the CAHSEE as a requirement
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for receiving a high school diploma. If adult students cannot pass the CAHSEE
and earn a high school diploma from adult schools, then adult schools could
become a thing of the past.
According to the literature, there are both positives and negatives in
requiring students to pass an examination in order to receive their high school
diploma. The proponents of exit exams believe that graduation tests ensure that
all high school graduates meet a minimum academic standard before earning a
high school diploma. Assessments also allow students to demonstrate their
knowledge and skill as well as serving as a tool to assist teachers in adjusting
instruction to meet the student’s needs. The opponents of exit exams believe
that such tests will increase the number of high school dropouts. Opponents of
exit exams also believe that testing will negatively affect students of color as well
as the economically disadvantaged student. Opponents of graduation exams
also believe that it is unfair to judge a student’s entire high school career on one
test.
According to Marzano, schools only account for approximately 10% in
student achievement. Jencks, Coleman and Marzano (Marzano, 2003} all agree
that family environment is a contributing factor in the lack of student achievement
regardless of the instructional quality. There is little evidence that education
reform can improve the influence a school has on student achievement. Five
common practices in effective schools are strong leadership, high expectations,
safe and orderly environment, emphasis on basic skills, and effective monitoring
of student achievement.
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Adult schools primarily educate the poorest students in the community.
Adult students also tend to be products of families that do not value education.
Adult schools will have to use strategies to create students that have the basic
skills and knowledge to earn a high school diploma, but also overcome the
barriers that the research says are the major influences on student achievement.
The next section of this dissertation focuses on the review of literature of
the elements and contributing factors to effective schools.
The Elements That Make an Effective School
Effective school is one of the buzzwords being thrown about during the
last eight years. What constitutes an effective school? Is it clean restrooms and
a safe facility? Or is it a school that has a friendly staff? Or is it a school that has
very high-test scores? Many researchers have attempted to tackle the
components of an effective school. An early definition of effective schools
centered on the concept of equity between children from different socioeconomic
classes (Lezotte, n.d., p. 1). In this section the literature surrounding effective
schools and some of the elements that helps make a school effective are
explored.
J. S. Coleman was a social scientist who believed that family factors such
as poverty and/or parent’s lack of education was more of a factor in a student’s
lack of achievement regardless of the method of instruction (Lezotte, p. 1). In
1966 The Equal Educational Opportunity Survey was published by Coleman and
associates (Lezotte, p. 1). The research literature suggests that the Coleman
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report was a major catalyst in school improvement movement during the last 40
years (Lezotte, p. 1).
In 2000 Marzano prepared a report for Mid-Continent Research for
Education and Learning (McREL) entitled A New Era-of School Reform: Going
Where the Research Takes Us. In his paper, Marzanzo compiled all of the
relevant research surrounding school reform as well as effective schools. In
1972 Jencks (Jencks, Smith, Ackland, Bane, et al., 1972) and his associates
published Inequality: A Reassessment of the Effects of Family and Schooling in
America, In that report, they found four factors regarding schools and student
achievement (Marzano, 2000, p. 2). Those four findings were:
• Schools do very little to lessen the gap between rich and poor
students.
• Schools do very little to lessen the gap between achieving and non
achieving students.
• The student’s background is the primary factor in achievement.
• There is little evidence that education reform can improve the
influence a school has on student achievement. (Marzano, 2000,
p. 2)
If adult school administrators looked at the Coleman report from 1966 and
the Jencks report from 1972, they would probably say, why try to improve
adult student achievement? It can’t be done according to Coleman and
Jencks due to the deficits adult students bring with them to class (Lezotte,
n.d., p. 1; Marzano, 2000, p. 2). Adult schools primarily educate the poorest
students in the community, and one of the reasons the student attends an
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adult school is that they failed to complete a high school education when they
were adolescents. Adult students also have many barriers to student
achievement in their backgrounds such as learning disorders, poor family
background, and/or English is not their primary language.
Marzano went further in his study of all of the research regarding the
factors that characterize effective schools. Most researchers agreed that the
five common practices used by effective schools are: (a) strong leadership,
(b) high expectations, (c) an orderly atmosphere, most researchers agreed
(d) an emphasis on basic skills, and (e) effective monitoring of student
achievement (Marzano, 2000, p. 19).
Assessments also allow students to demonstrate their knowledge and
skill as well as serving as a tool to assist teachers in adjusting instruction to
meet the student’s needs. The opponents of exit exams believe that such
tests will increase the number of high school dropouts. Opponents of exit
exams also believe that testing will negatively affect students of color as well
as the economically disadvantaged student. Opponents of graduation exams
also believe that it is unfair to judge a student’s entire high school career on
one test.
According to the literature regarding effective schools, schools only
account for approximately 10% in student achievement. The most common
thread throughout all of the research is that family factors were more of a
factor in the lack of student achievement regardless of the instruction the
student reoeived. The literature basically says that there is little evidence that
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education reform can improve the influence a school has on student
achievement.
Adult students tend to be financially disadvantaged and products of
families that do not value education. Adult schools will have to use the
literature to create students who have the basic skills and knowledge to earn
a high school diploma, but also overcome the barriers that the research says
are the major influences on student achievement.
The following chapters describe the methodology used (Chapter 3),
the results of the gathered data (Chapter 4), and the next steps that adult
schools should take (Chapter 5).
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CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY
Research Questions
This chapter describes the design, sample, instrumentation, data
collection and data analysis process of the current study. Adult student
achievement on the California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE) during
2002-2003 is investigated and the common performance gaps experienced by
adult schools with their school’s implementation of the CAHSEE are identified.
The focus of the study focused around 27 medium-sized adult schools
throughout the State of California. The following research questions were
answered after completing the investigation:
1. What organizational barriers were contributing factors for student
success on the CAHSEE?
2. What organizational barriers were contributing factors for the lack of
student success on the CAHSEE?
3. What strategies are working to encourage student success on the
CAHSEE in adult schools?
4. Is there a difference in student success on the CAHSEE depending
on the type of instructional program they are participating in?
5. How are adult schools assisting minorities with passing the CAHSEE?
6. What motivational barriers have been encountered during the
introduction of the CAHSEE into adult education?
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Participants
The CAHSEE was not a graduation requirement during the 2002-2003
school year, but was administered in most California high schools because it was
required at the time for all 2004 high school graduates. Eighteen medium-sized
adult schools out of 27 adult schools chose not to administer the CAHSEE during
2002-2003, while nine medium-sized adult schools chose to administer the
CAHSEE (Table 4). For the purpose of this study, California adult schools were
chosen based on their 2002-2003 average daily attendance (ADA) as determined
by the California Department of Education (California Department of Education
Data). The selected schools’ CAHSEE data for 2002-2003 was obtained from
the California Department of Education’s website. The data was analyzed and it
was determined that four medium-sized adult schools had students pass one
and/or both portions of the CAHSEE during 2002-2003. Those schools were
Golden Adult School, Paradise City Adult School, Grape Adult School, and
Lookout Adult School. The site administrators and/or program coordinators of
the three adult schools were interviewed regarding their school, the school’s
instructional program and the school’s administration of the CAHSEE. An
interview guide was developed for those three interviews and is located in
Appendix A.
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Table 4
Each Schools’ ADA Information and the CAHSEE Data
2002-2003 Medium-
Sized Adult
Education CAHSEE
Results ADA
CAHSEE-
Math
Percent
Pass
Math
CAHSEE-
ELA
Percent
Pass
ELA
Angel 589 0 0 0 0
Atlas 556 0 0 0 0
Blue lakes 615 0 0 0 0
Chico Valley 496 0 0 0 0
Davis 636 0 0 0 0
Deliverance 496 0 0 0 0
Foster 599 0 0 0 0
Fountain 456 0 0 0 0
Golden 595 13/57 23% 26/49 53%
Grape 521 2/12 17% 7/12 58%
Hanson 602 0/9 0 0/9 0
Hunter 553 0/4 0 0/4 0
King 602 0/9 0 0/9 0
Lamas 606 0 0 0 0
Levi 631 0 0 0 0
Longmont 479 0 0 0 0
Lookout 553 30/107 28% 78/99 79%
Martin 482 0/2 0 0/2 0
Montgomery 605 0 0 0 0
Paradise City 628 29/154 19% 71/124 57%
Pentium 515 0 0 0 0
Rodeo 435 0 0 0 0
Rose 422 0 0 0 0
Swanee 699 0/6 0 0/6 0
Temple 535 0 0 0 0
White City 622 0 0 0 0
Woods 489 0 0 0 0
TOTALS 74 I 360 21 % 182/314 58%
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Instrumentation
Adult schools in California range in size from very small to very large.
Adult schools serve students in large, urban areas as well as small rural areas.
' Adult Schools are as diverse throughout California as the population they serve.
In order to have a study that is reliable and valid. The focus of this study was on
the adult schools in California that have 400 ADA through 700 ADA. This
includes schools in urban areas as well as schools in rural areas. The schools
were selected from the California Department of Education website according to
the ADA Cap.
There are 27 medium-sized adult schools in California. For this study
only nine of the schools administered the CAHSEE during the 2002-2003 school
year. Four of those schools in the study had students pass one or both portions
, of the CAHSEE.
I interviewed the administrators of three of the schools who had students
pass the CAHSEE during 2002-2003 (Golden Adult School, Paradise City Adult
Education, and Lookout Adult School). Each of these three schools tested over
50 students during 2002-2003. The remaining 24 adult schools were sent a
questionnaire focusing on their school’s decision not to administer the CAHSEE
during 2002-2003, or their school’s lack of student success on the CAHSEE.
The survey by was tested by creating a pilot study. Five adult schools,
not in the comparison group, ranged in size from 37 ADA to 1,000 ADA piloted
the survey. Two surveys, or 33%, of the sample were completed and returned.
: The pilot study assisted in designing the survey that was sent to the 24 schools
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in this study. I have analyzed the CAHSEE data from the California Department
of Education website and have determined reasons for student achievement and
failures on the CAHSEE during 2002-2003.
Procedures
This is a case study that evaluated the implementation of the CAHSEE in
medium-sized California adult schools. The purpose of this study was to
determine the performance gaps the CAHSEE created for those schools, factors
that are creating an achievement gap for aduit students, and the steps adult
schools are taking to insure that their students are prepared to pass the
CAHSEE. The data for this study was collected through a variety of sources
including, but not limited to, observations, interviews, questionnaires, and data
analysis.
Data Processing and Analysis
For the purposes of this qualitative study, observations, interviews and
questionnaires were developed and conducted by the researcher. Interviews
took place at the three schools during August and September 2004.
Questionnaires were developed using zoomerang.com and submitted to the pilot
group on August 1, 2004. The questionnaire was evaluated and adjusted before
it was sent to the remaining 24 aduit schools in the comparison group using
zoomerang.com to compile the results of the questionnaire. Only three schools
responded to the survey sent to them via e-mail on zoomerang.com. I contacted
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administrators of twenty-one adult schools in the comparison group by e-mail and
asked them to contact me by phone or e-mail so that I could ask them a few
questions regarding the CAHSEE. The results of the questionnaire were
reviewed for common practices and strategies being used by one or all of the •
adult schools in this study.
The remaining chapters contain the compiled data gathered from the
participants and determine strategies that are successful and practices that are
not very promising. Further, a list of practices that could help eliminate the
performance gaps has been developed.
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CHAPTER 4
RESULTS
The goal of this dissertation was to report the California High School Exit
Examination (CAHSEE) test results for medium-sized adult schools during the
2002-2003 school year and the strategies adult schools are using to assist their
students in passing the exit exam. In examining performance gaps that the adult
schools in the comparison group had in common, a list was developed of
successful strategies and practices that adult schools who are administering the
CAHSEE are using which assist their students in performing well on achievement
tests as well as mastering the California Content Standards.
Where to Start?
While adult students in California are required to pass the CAHSEE to
receive a high school diploma, there is very little literature focused on the
CAHSEE and adult students. Much of the research for this dissertation was
conducted through analyzing the CAHSEE data on the California Department of
Education’s website as well as interviewing adult school administrators who had
students perform well on the CAHSEE during the 2002-2003 school year. Due to
the large disparity in size between adult schools throughout California, a
comparison group of similar sized adult schools was created. The comparison
group was comprised of 27 adult schools ranging in size with an ADA of 435 to
699 ADA. Of the 27 schools in the comparison group, only nine adult schools
administered the CAHSEE during the 2002-2003 school year (Table 4). Out of
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those nine schools, only Grape Adult School, Golden Adult School, Paradise City
Adult School, and Lookout Adult School had students pass either or both portions
of the CAHSEE (California Department of Education, n.d. a). By looking at the
data, all four schools are similar in ADA, but are located in different areas in
California. I visited the adult schools in Paradise County to see for myself if they
were doing something drastically different in instruction or program design to
have the degree of student success on the CAHSEE as they did in 2002-2003.
Lookout Adult School
Lookout Adult School is located in Lookout, California, in Paradise
County. Lookout Adult School had 553 ADA in 2002-2003 (California
Department of Education, n.d. Adult Education Data). Forty-five percent of
Lookout Adult School’s student population is Hispanic. The Principal of Lookout
Adult School is Mr. Robert Hogan. Hogan has been the Principal at Lookout
Adult School since 1991 and before that he was the Assistant Principal at that
school for four to five years (R. Hogan, personal communication, August 9,
2004).
During 2002-2003 school year, Lookout Adult School administered the
ELA (ELA) portion of the CAHSEE to 99 students. Of those students
participating in the ELA portion of the CAHSEE, 78 students, or 79%, passed that
portion. During the 2002-2003 school year, Lookout Adult School administered
the mathematics portion of the CAHSEE to 107 students. Of those students
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participating in the mathematics portion of the CAHSEE, 30 students, or 28%,
passed that portion of the CAHSEE (California Department of Education, n.d. a).
When compared to all of the adult school students in the state that took
the CAHSEE during 2002-2003, Lookout Adult School students did very well.
Statewide, 24% of the adult students taking the CAHSEE during 2002-2003
passed the ELA portion. Statewide, 57% of the adult students taking the
CAHSEE passed the mathematics portion. When comparing Lookout Adult
School to the other 26 schools in the comparison group, Lookout’s students were
very successful on the CAHSEE. When comparing Lookout Adult School to the
other 26 adult schools in the comparison group, 58% of the adult students taking
the CAHSEE passed the ELA portion and 21% passed the mathematics portion
(California Department of Education, n.d. a).
In my opinion, 28% of the students passing the mathematics portion of
the CAHSEE are not fantastic, but when comparing Lookout Adult School to
other adult schools in the State of California, their students did exceptionally well.
I believe that 79% of the students passing the ELA portion of the CAHSEE is
fantastic when comparing Lookout Adult School to other adult schools in the
State of California.
Using an interview guide (Appendix A), I interviewed Mr. Hogan and his
Assistant Principal Fran Klink in the Fall of 2004. The interview focused on
Lookout Adult School and their implementation of the CAHSEE. Hogan believes
that the degree of student success and/or failure on the CAHSEE will have huge
implications for his school (R. Hogan, personal communication, August 9, 2004).
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Hogan believes that his school needs to “get ahead of the curve,” and
make sure that his school’s instructional program assists aduit students with
passing the CAHSEE. A large number of Lookout’s adult students complete the
requirements for their high school diploma through an independent study delivery
system. Hogan believes most of his students will not be able pass Algebra and
gain the writing skills necessary to pass the CAHSEE through independent study
alone. Hogan has mandated that his independent study students complete math
and English requirements in the lab at his school using the assistance of
Pacemaker software.
In order to help his students pass the CAHSEE, Hogan believes that he
and his staff must develop and continually improve his school’s instructional
program. Without continual improvement and exam passage, students will not
attend his adult school which will force him to reduce his staffs hours of
employment.
Visiting Lookout Adult School and interviewing the principal was very
helpful with this dissertation. Lookout Adult School had a plan for educating
students and had goals for their school. Their the CAHSEE scores from 2002-
2003 reflect that the school and staff has truly bought into the fact that their
students will have to pass the CAHSEE or it will have a negative impact on their
high school diploma program.
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Paradise City Adult Education
Paradise City Adult Education had 628 ADA in 2002-2003 (California
Department of Education/Adult Education Data). The Principal is Todd Magnum
and he has been the administrator since February 2004 (T: Magnum, personal
communication, July 10, 2004). Magnum advised me that I would be better off
talking to Mr. Tom Higgins who is a teacher of the biggest high school diploma
program in the district.
When compared to all of the adult school students in the state that took
the CAHSEE during 2002-2003, Paradise City Adult Education students did very
well. During the school year, Paradise City Adult Education administered the
ELA portion of the CAHSEE to 124 students. Of those students participating in
the ELA portion of the CAHSEE, 71 students, or 57%, passed that portion of the
CAHSEE. Paradise City Adult Education administered the.mathematics portion
of the CAHSEE to 154 students. Statewide, 24% of the adult students taking the
CAHSEE during 2002-2003 passed the ELA portion. Statewide, 57% of the adult
students taking the CAHSEE passed the mathematics portion. When comparing
Paradise City Adult Education to the other 26 adult schools in this dissertation’s
comparison group, 58% of the adult students taking the CAHSEE during 2002-
2003 passed the ELA portion. When looking at schools in the comparison group,
21% of the adult students taking the CAHSEE during 2002-2003 passed the
mathematics portion (California Department of Education, n.d. a).
When comparing Paradise City Adult Education to the other 26 schools in
the comparison group, their students were very successful on the CAHSEE
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43
during 2002-2003. In my opinion, 19% of the students passing the mathematics
portion of the CAHSEE is acceptable, and 57% of the students passing the ELA
portion is admirable and better than most adult schools.
Using an interview guide (Appendix A), I interviewed Mr. Tom Higgins in
August 2004. The interview focused on Paradise City Adult Education and their
implementation of the CAHSEE. Higgins taught in the adult education high
school diploma program held on the campus of Mesa High School in Paradise
City, California. Paradise City Adult Education administered the CAHSEE twice
during the 2002-2003 school year. According to Higgins, the CAHSEE has not
been a big focus with adult education in his district.
One of the things that set Paradise City Adult Education apart from most
adult schools is that they partner with the local community college district. The
major component of Higgins’s program is that he hires mentors through the
community college district to work with his students. There are usually three to
four mentors at any time to assist students with their coursework.
Students attending Higgins’s program are required to attend 15 hours a
week. Compared to other adult schools in California, the adult students in
Paradise City’s high school diploma program tend to be younger adults and that
could be a contributing factor to their school’s success on the CAHSEE.
Higgins told me that he hopes the California State Board of Education will
postpone the CAHSEE, because “it will hold back a lot of students and it is not
practical.”
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44
Golden Adult School
Golden Adult School is located in Golden, California, which is in Butte
County. Golden Adult School had 595 ADA in 2002-2003 (California Department
of Education/Adult Ed. Data). Golden Adult School’s three largest student
minority groups are: Hispanic (8%), American Indian (5%), and Asian (4%). The
Principal of Golden Adult School is Mr. Fred Malone. Malone has been the
Principal since 1997 and before that he was the Assistant Principal at that school
for one year (F. Malone, personal communication, October 28, 2004). Malone is
also the Assistant Superintendent in charge of alternative education for the
Golden Union High School District.
Using an interview guide (Appendix A), I interviewed Mr. Malone in
October 2004. The interview focused on Golden Adult School and his school’s
implementation of the CAHSEE.
When compared to all of the adult school students in the state that took
the CAHSEE during 2002-2003, Golden Adult School students did very well.
When comparing Golden Adult School to the other 26 adult schools in this
dissertation’s comparison group, 58% taking the CAHSEE passed the ELA
portion. During 2002-2003, Golden Adult School administered the ELA portion of
the CAHSEE to 49 students. Of those Students participating in the ELA portion,
26 students, or 53%, passed. During the 2002-2003 school year, Golden Adult
School administered the mathematics portion of the CAHSEE to 57 students. Of
those students participating in the mathematics portion, 13 students, or 23%,
passed. Statewide, 24% of the adult students taking the CAHSEE during 2002-
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45
2003 passed the ELA portion). Statewide, 57% of the adult students taking the
CAHSEE during 2002-2003 passed the mathematics portion. When looking at
schools in the comparison group, 21% of the adult students taking the CAHSEE
during 2002-2003 passed the mathematics portion (California Department of
Education, n.d. a). When comparing Golden Adult School to the other 26
schools in the comparison group, their students were very successful on the
CAHSEE during 2002-2003.
In my opinion, 23% of the students passing the mathematics portion of
the CAHSEE is not fantastic, but when comparing Golden Adult School to other
adult schools in the State of California, their students did exceptionally well.
However, with only 53% of the students passing the ELA portion of the CAHSEE
is an area where Golden Adult School needs to improve.
Malone believes that the introduction of the CAHSEE as a graduation
requirement has great implications for his high school diploma program as well
as his school. He also believes the CAHSEE will level the playing field for all
alternative education schools and give credibility to the diplomas they award. It
is his feeling that students will decide not to attend his school if they cannot pass
both portions of the CAHSEE, and that the CAHSEE’s impact will be felt mostly
on his school’s independent Study program. He believes that most of the adult
students that attend his school do not possess the basic skills necessary to pass
the CAHSEE without direct classroom instruction in the areas of mathematics
and ELA.
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46
Malone has made the CAHSEE a priority for his staff and himself for the
past three years. He has worked with a software developer to create a software
program for his school that focuses on the California Content Standards and the
CAHSEE.
Empower is a software program developed by I MAX Solutions in
Paradise, California. Empower also tracks student progress and was designed
to provide a paper trail for teachers to serve as evidence whether teachers were
working with students or not. The creators of the software, Mike and Kim Smith,
reviewed the released questions of the CAHSEE as well as reviewed manuals
published for the CAHSEE to give them a sense of the test. Teachers assign
students to answer questions on the computer that are tied to a specific
California Content Standard and the software provides immediate feedback to
both the teacher and student to help determine mastery of the California Content
Standards. Malone believes that students who are unable to pass the CAHSEE
will sue schools and he wants his staff to be prepared when litigation comes. He
believes the Empower software will provide evidence of student remediation
during litigation (F. Malone, personal communication, October 28, 2004).
Malone has mandated a two-hour Independent Study appointment for all
students who have not passed the CAHSEE. A portion of the appointment is for
the student to correct their homework and get new assignments. The remainder
of the appointment is designed for the student to work with remedial software to
work on areas that the student needs to improve in order to pass the CAHSEE.
Malone has instituted a remediation matrix. There, all students in his school can
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47
receive direct instruction in English, Algebra, and/or test taking skills in a
classroom at a scheduled time.
Like Hogan, Malone believes the CAHSEE is here to stay. He believes
that his job as an administrator is to make sure his school’s instructional program
is strong enough to assist his students to be successful on the CAHSEE.
Visiting the school sites and interviewing staff at Lookout Adult School
and Paradise City Adult Education was a valuable experience. It allowed me the
opportunity to observe how each school operates on a daily basis and gain
insight into each school’s culture.
I have been an Assistant Principal at Golden Adult Education for the past
six years. Visiting Paradise City and Lookout Adult Schools gave me the
opportunity to compare my school against those two schools and using the
CAHSEE scores as a common gauge. ,
Grape Adult Education
Grape Adult School is located in Grape, California in the County of San
Joaquin. During the 2002-2003 school year, Grape Adult School had an ADA
cap of 521 (California Department of Education/Adult Ed. Data).
During 2002-2003 Grape Adult School administered the ELA portion of
the CAHSEE to 12 students. Of those students participating in the ELA portion,
7 students, or 58%, passed. During the 2002-2003 school year Grape Adult
School administered the mathematics portion of the CAHSEE to 12 students.
Two students, or 17%. Passed.
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48
. The Principal of Grape Adult School opted out of the CAHSEE survey
when it was e-mailed to him from Zoomerang.com. On December 15, 2004,1
contacted by telephone Sam Cold, the Principal of Grape Adult School. I asked
him questions from the survey which had been e-mailed using Zoomerang.com.
Sam Cold is the Principal of Grape Adult School as well as the Director of
his district’s Regional Occupational Program. Cold did not think his school did
very well on the CAHSEE during 2002-2003. He told me that the CAHSEE has
forced his school to look at his school’s instructional practices as well as remedial
strategies in order to assist students in passing the CAHSEE. Grape Adult has
implemented the same instructional materials for remediation into his school that
are being used on other campuses in his district. Grape Adult School only offers
a classroom option for students seeking their high school diploma.
, Cold believes that the CAHSEE is here to stay and that the
implementation of the CAHSEE will not lead to a complete elimination of adult
education. Cold believes younger adults will enter adult education after their high
school careers are completed (4 years even if they have not earned a diploma)
and have experience taking the CAHSEE and taking Algebra classes at the
comprehensive high school or continuation high school. Cold believes older
adult students who not have a diploma and do not have experience taking the
CAHSEE and may not have experience with Algebra 1, will be the students who
may not be able to earn their high school diploma due to the new graduation
requirements.
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49
In 2002-2003 four adult schools in the comparison group administered the
math portion of the CAHSEE for a total of 330 students. The four adult schools
administered the ELA portion of the CAHSEE to a total of 284 students.
Collectively, the four adult schools had 74 students, or 22%. pass the
mathematics. Collectively, the four adult schools had 182 students, or 64%, pass
the ELA portion (California Department of Education, n.d. a).
The administrators of Lookout Adult School, Golden Adult School, and
Grape Adult School believed their schools needed to administer the CAHSEE to
as many students as possible. This would accurately gauge how well their
instructional programs are assisting students in having the skills to pass the
CAHSEE. The three schools interviewed are implementing remedial materials
into their classrooms such as software programs and the CAHSEE review
materials. All three schools have made the CAHSEE a priority for their students
and staff and a major focus for the way the schools operate on a daily basis.
Both Lookout Adult School and Golden Adult School have introduced
Algebra 1 and English classes that are mandatory for students at Lookout Adult
School and recommended for students who have not passed the CAHSEE at
Golden Adult School.
Out of the four adult schools who had success, three of those schools
were interviewed for this study. The four schools, Grape Adult School, Paradise
City Adult Education, Lookout Adult School, and Golden Adult School tested the
most students out of the other schools in the comparison group and had many
students pass the CAHSEE (California Department of Education, n.d. a).
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50
Paradise City Adult had a high school diploma program that was not a
traditional adult school program. The school was on a high school campus and
classes were held mainly during the day. Most of the students in Paradise City’s
program tended to be younger than the typical adult school students.
When looking at Grape Adult School, Lookout Adult School, and Golden
Adult School, all three schools have many of the same attributes. The way
students attend classes, students are typical adult school students and the
school administration is dedicated to structuring their schools to help students
pass the CAHSEE. Two school administrators from Lookout and Golden believe
that whether students can pass the CAHSEE or not will determine if their schools
continue to offer high school diploma programs. Out of the four adult schools
that had student success on the CAHSEE in 2002-2003, Grape Adult School is
the only adult school that did not offer an independent study option for earning a
high school diploma to students (S. Cold, personal communication, December
15, 2004). All four adult schools have implemented remedial strategies as well
as sought out instructional materials to assist students in learning the basic skills
necessary to pass the CAHSEE (R. Hogan, personal communication, August 9,
2004; F. Malone, personal communication, October 28, 2004; S. Cold, personal
communication, December 15, 2004). Grape Adult School is the only school not
to use computer software in its school’s remediation efforts (S. Cold, personal
communication, October 15, 2004).
This researcher wanted to make sure that the test scores for adult
students on the CAHSEE for Grape Adult School, Golden Adult School, Lookout
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Adult School, and Paradise City Adult School during 2002-2003 were not a fluke,
i examined the CAHSEE scores for Grape, Golden, Paradise City and Lookout
Adult Schools for the 2003-2004 school years to see if their students had similar
success (Table 5).
Table 5
Comparison of the Four Schools Who Had Success
2002-2003 Medium-
Sized Adult Education
CAHSEE Results
ADA
CAHSEE-
Math
Percent
Pass
Math
CAHSEE-
ELA
Percent
Pass ELA
Grape 521 0/4 0 0/3 0
Golden 595 13/49 27% 34/56 61%
Paradise City 628 0 0 0 0
Lookout 553 10/29 34% 8/27 30%
Totals 23/82 28% , 42/86 49%
Source: California Department of Education/2003-2004 CAHSEE Data.
Both Golden Adult School and Lookout Adult School tested a large
number of adult students during 2003-2004. Golden Adult School had an
increase in the number of students passing either portion of the CAHSEE during
2003-2004 with 27% of their students passing the math portion—an increase
from 23% in 2002-2003. Sixty-one percent of their students in 2003-2004
passed the ELA portion of the CAHSEE, an increase from 53% in 2002-2003.
Lookout Adult School had an increase in the number of students passing the
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math portion of the CAHSEE in 2003-2004 with a success rate of 34% which is
an increase from 28% in 2002-2003. Thirty percent of their students in 2003-
2004 passed the ELA portion of the CAHSEE, a decrease from 79% in 2002-
2003 (California Department of Education/2003-2004 the CAHSEE Data).
According to Tom Higgins at Paradise City Adult Education, his school was
prepared to test adult students during 2003-2004, but the school district did not
have enough testing materials and elected to test the secondary students and
not the adult students.
Similarities Between the Adult Schools that
Did Not Have Success
During the 2002-2003 school year, nine adult schools with ADA caps of
400 to 700 administered the CAHSEE (California Department of Education, n.d.
a). In California, 27 adult schools had ADA caps in the 400-700 range. During
the 2002-2003 school year, the 27 medium-sized adult schools administered the
ELA portion of the CAHSEE to 314 adult students. Of those 314 students, 182,
or 58%, passed the ELA portion. During the 2002-2003 school year, the 27
medium-sized adult schools administered the mathematics portion of the
CAHSEE to 360 adult students. Of those 360 students, 74, or 21 %, passed the
mathematics portion. Four adult schools in this study’s comparison group
accounted for all of the students passing either portion of the CAHSEE during the
2002-2003 school year. Five adult schools in the comparison group did not have
any students pass either portion of the CAHSEE during 2002-2003. Eighteen
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53
medium-sized adult schools did not administer the CAHSEE during the 2002-
2003 school year (California Department of Education, n.d. a);
When one looks at the CAHSEE data from 2002-2003 from adult schools
with 400 to 700 ADA, there is a disparity in schools that administered the test,
schools that administered the test and did not have any students pass, or
schools that administered the test and students were successful on one or both
portions of the test. Many adult schools during the 2002-2003 school year did
not administer the CAHSEE to their students. Throughout California, only 2,689
adult education students took the mathematics portion and 2,463 adult students
took the ELA portion of the CAHSEE in 2002-2003 (California Department of
Education, n.d. a).
During 2002-2003, five adult schools administered both portions of the
CAHSEE, but did not have any students pass the test (California Department of
Education, n.d. a). Those five adult schools were Swanee Adult School, Hunter
Adult Education, Hanson Adult School, Martin Adult School, and King Adult
School and they administered the CAHSEE to thirty students (California
Department of Education, n.d. a). Of those five schools, I gathered data from
four of the schools (excluding Hanson Adult School).
The four administrators I talked with believe the CAHSEE is important for
their school and have looked at their instructional programs to determine what
adjustments need to be made to assist students with passing the CAHSEE (R.
Bottom ; G. Burns; B. Nicolas, T. Thomas, personal communications, 2004).
One administrator I talked to believed that the introduction of the CAHSEE, as a
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54
graduation requirement, might steer more students to take the GED Examination
instead of completing coursework and passing a test (R. Bottom, personal
communication, 2004). One administrator told me that his school focused more
on English as a Second Language (ESI) classes rather than on high school
diploma classes and the CAHSEE (T. Thomas, personal communication, 2004).
Another commonality between the adult schools that did not have students pass
the CAHSEE in 2002-2003 is that all five schools tested nine students or less
(California Department of Education, n.d. a).
Looking at the schools that did not have success on the CAHSEE in
2002-2003, the common thread that most of the schools had in common was
they felt since the CAHSEE is not a requirement until 2006, it is not a priority at
this time. Some of the adult school administrators I talked to also had very small
high school diploma programs and felt that focusing; major time and resources on
the CAHSEE before it was required by law, would have been a waste of
resources (C. Bordon, personal communication, December 2, 2004; B. Kelly,
personal communication, December 1, 2004; W. Guava, personal
communication, December 15, 2004; A. Samuels, personal communication,
December 2, 2004; T. Thomas, personal communication, December 17, 2004;
B. Kelly, personal communication, December 1, 2004). Most of the school
administrators I talked to believed their school will implement the CAHSEE in the
spring 2005 because the CAHSEE will be a graduation requirement commencing
July 1,2005.
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Common CAHSEE Concerns From AH
Administrators in This Study
The CAHSEE has huge implications for adult schools in California. All of
the adult education administrators spoken with believe the CAHSEE will force
schools to look at their instructional programs, instructional materials, and
personnel to offer quality programs that will assist students in learning the skills
needed to pass both portions of the CAHSEE. Some adult schools are using the
CAHSEE review materials provided by their districts and/or the State of California
(C. Bordon; W. Guava; T. Thomas, personal communications, 2004). Other adult
schools in this study are using software to assist with remediation. Some
districts are using Plato software (B. Grant; D. Stew, personal communications,
2004), Lookout Adult School is using Pacemaker software (R. Hogan, personal
communication, August 9, 2004), and Golden Adult School is using EMPOWER
software (F. Malone, personal communication, October 28, 2004).
The school administrators spoken with had not introduced any strategies
to assist minority students with passing the CAHSEE. Assisting minority
students with learning the skills necessary to pass both portions of the CAHSEE
will be a major barrier for all schools, as well as adult schools, in the State of
California in the upcoming years.
Administrators I talked to are taking different approaches to the CAHSEE.
Two administrators I talked with are testing as many students as they can to
generate a large sample in order to make data driven decisions regarding
program design, instructional materials and remediation strategies ^R. Hogan
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56:
personal communication, August 9, 2004; F. Malone, personal communication,
October 28, 2004). Most administrators with believed the CAHSEE would allow
their school’s diploma to be more credible and be seen in the same light as a
high school diploma earned at a comprehensive high school (R. Bottom; G.
Burns, W. Guava; R. Hogan; F. Malone, personal communications, 2004).
The biggest concerns heard from a majority of the adult education
administrators was that since adult schools graduate students on a daily basis,
adult schools should have the ability to administer the CAHSEE more than twice
a year ( R. Hogan, G. Bums, personal communications, 2004). Further, since
adult schools cater to adults, they should be able to offer the CAHSEE multiple
times on a test administration day instead of the one time mandated by
Educational Testing Service (ETS). Adult school administrators believe that adult
students will not want to wait six months to a year to complete the CAHSEE
requirement in order to earn a diploma. Robert Hogan from Lookout Adult
School believes that adult schools in an area, for instance Paradise City, divide
up administration of the CAHSEE (R. Hogan, personal communication, August 9,
2004). How it would work is, that instead of all schools in the area offering the
CAHSEE during the same days every year, that adult schools in the area could
refer their students to another adult school to take the CAHSEE every month.
Students would not have to wait until their adult school offered the CAHSEE to
take it (R. Hogan, personal communication, August 9, 2004).
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In the following chapter of this dissertation, the implications that the
CAHSEE will have on adult school students and their schools in the upcoming
years are discussed.
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58
CHAPTER 5
SUMMARY, RECOMMENDATIONS, AND CONCLUSIONS
Summary
The California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE) becomes a
graduation requirement for all students in California who will earn a high school
beginning July 1, 2005 (California Department of Education, 2004, p. 1). The
CAHSEE is designed to assess a student’s skill in mathematics and English-
Language Arts (ELA). The math portion of the exam covers probability and
statistics, number sense, algebra and functions, measurement and geometry,
and Algebra. The ELA portion of the exam covers word analysis, reading
comprehension, literary response and analysis, writing strategies, and writing
conventions (California Department of Education, 2004, p. 1).
There are many proponents for exit examinations who believe testing will
improve student achievement, insure that Content Standards are being taught
throughout the State, make all high school diplomas comparable, and insure that
all students who earn a diploma in a State will possess the same baseline
knowledge (Achieve, Inc., 2004b; Danielson, 2002; Garcia, 2003; Jacob, 2001;
Schmoker, 1996). Opponents of exit examinations believe it is unfair to base a
student’s entire high school career on whether or not they can pass a test
(Jacob, 2001).
Adult schools in California are under the umbrella of K-12 or 9-12 school
districts and are also required to make sure their students can pass the CAHSEE
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59
in order to earn a high school diploma. Adult education has been around in
California since the late 1890s. Academic teachers in adult schools are required
to hold a California teaching credential. Unlike comprehensive high schools,
adult school students can earn their diploma through an independent-study
program and/or a lab-type environment where the student works on an
individualized program and completes packets and assignments in a classroom.
The CAHSEE is a challenge for adult schools in California because of the
following: (a) adult school students usually enter adult schools deficit in basic
skills such as reading, writing and/or math; (b) adult schools usually serve large
amounts of educationally disadvantaged students, who lack basic skills as well
as not being proficient in the English language; (c) adult schools are funded
approximately two-thirds less than their K-12 counterparts; (d) traditionally adult
schools did not use instructional materials that were tied to California Content
Standards; (e) adult school teachers are not required by No Child Left Behind
legislation to be highly qualified) (f) adult school students can earn a high school
diploma any day of the school year, not just once or twice a year like a
comprehensive high school; (g) most adult schools do not use direct instruction
to provide course material to students, students are assigned packets and work
independently; and (h) not all adult schools offer a high school diploma program
to students.
For this dissertation, I looked at 27 California adult schools that were
comparable in size with an ADA of 400 to 700 as determined by the California
Department of Education. The purpose of this study was to explore the practices
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60
that successful adult schools utilized to assist students to pass the CAHSEE and
the barriers that were encountered by all adult schools regarding their
implementation of the CAHSEE. During the 2002-2003 school year, 9 of the 27
adult schools in the comparison group administered the CAHSEE (California
Department of Education, n.d. a). Four of the 27 adult schools that administered
the CAHSEE during 2002-2003 had students pass one or both portions of the
CAHSEE. Five of the 27 adult schools that administered the CAHSEE during
2002-2003 did not have any students pass one or both portions of the CAHSEE.
Eighteen of the 27 adult schools did not administer the CAHSEE during 2002-
2003 (California Department of Education, n.d. a).
When one looks at the CAHSEE and adult schools’ implementation of the
CAHSEE, there are three critical factors that must be examined during the
analysis process. According to Clark and Estes, those factors are: (a) people’s
knowledge and skills, (b) people’s motivation to achieve goals, and (c)
Organizational barriers (Clark % Estes, 2002). When one applies Clark and
Estes’ factors to adult schools, they would translate into the following: (a)
people’s knowledge and skill would be the adult school teachers knowledge of
curriculum and the California Standards, as well as adult school administrators’
knowledge about improving instructional practice and the implications to their
schools if students do not pass the CAHSEE; (b) people’s motivation to achieve
goals would be the equivalent to that of teachers’ and administrations’ motivation
to change instructional practice and curriculum in assisting students with learning
the skills necessary to pass the CAHSEE; and (c) organizational barriers such as
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61
lack of funding, the lack of qualified instructors, the lack of instructional materials,
test administration regulations as outlined by Educational Testing Services and
local school districts, and the transient nature of adult school students.
When reviewing the literature regarding effective schools, five common
practices that most researchers agreed upon are being used by effective schools
are: (a) strong leadership, (b) high expectations, (c) an orderly atmosphere, (d)
an emphasis on basic skills, and (e) effective monitoring of student achievement
(Marzano, Pickering & Pollock, 2001). Implementation of these common
practices is apparent in adult schools that have had continued success on the
CAHSEE. Both Lookout Adult School and Golden Adult School have strong
administrators who have high expectations for their students as well as their
staffs. Furthermore, both are constantly monitoring instructional practice and
student achievement in order to insure that their students have the skills
necessary to not only pass the CAHSEE, but also be productive and contributing
members in their local communities.
Through the course of this study, I had the opportunity to discuss adult
school implementation of the CAHSEE with adult school administrators as well
as adult school teachers. It is clear that the CAHSEE has forced adult schools to
implement California Content Standards in all of their classrooms, develop
remediation strategies for assisting students with learning the skills necessary to
pass both portions of the CAHSEE, as well as hire highly qualified teachers who
can teach higher-level writing skills and Algebra. In this sense the CAHSEE has
changed adult schools already.
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62
The most common organizational barrier encountered was the mandate
by Educational Testing Service that all schools administer the CAHSEE the same
calendar days as determined by their school districts. Most school districts are
administering the CAHSEE two to three times a year. Schools can only
administer the CAHSEE once a day. The problem that presents for adult schools
is that adult schools cater to a population who may work day jobs, and/or have
child care issues; therefore, testing in the morning like high schools do in most
instances, may not be practical. Also, adult students can work at their own pace
to meet requirements for a high school diploma any day of the week during the
school year. An adult student could enter an adult school in May and need 20
credits to earn a high school diploma. The student could earn all of their required
credits for a diploma in July and then have to wait until September or November
to take the CAHSEE. If the student passes the CAHSEE, they will not know until
they receive their test results in January or February.
Adult school administrators communicated with would like to see
Educational Testing Service and the State of California make the CAHSEE more
adult student friendly. Administrators would like to have the ability to offer the
CAHSEE more than once during the school day, for example, giving the
CAHSEE in the morning and In the evening. Some adult school administrators
would also like to see Educational Testing Service allow adult schools to offer the
CAHSEE more than two to three times a year (G. Burns; personal
communication, 2004; R. Hogan, personal communication, August 9, 2004;
F. Malone, personal communication, October 28, 2004). One solution being
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63
discussed is to have adult schools placed in a regional center and one school in
the regional center would administer the CAHSEE once a month and schools in
the region could send their students to the school in the region that is offering the
California Exit Examination (Hogan, 2004). According to Clark and Estes,
organizational barriers can create performance gaps. The rules revolving around
when and how many times a school can administer the CAHSEE is a major
organizational barrier for adult schools and will prove to be a major factor in
performance gaps when the CAHSEE is a graduation requirement commencing
July 1,2005.
Recommendations
The most immediate next step for California adult schools is to work with
the California Department of Education to develop a strategy to which adult
schools can administer the CAHSEE more than three times a year and more
than once on a test day. Since adult schools graduate students on a daily basis,
adult schools should have the ability to administer the CAHSEE more than twice
a year. Adult students will forgo their diploma again if they have to wait around
many months and/or years if the only requirement they need to meet, in order to
earn their diploma, is pass a test.
Adult schools should also make the CAHSEE a major focus if they have
not already done so. If students cannot pass the CAHSEE or earn a high school
diploma in a timely manner, students will take the GED or attend a community
college instead of pursuing a diploma through an adult school.
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64
Adult Schools need to develop a plan for remediation for their students. ■
Students will need to bolster basic skills in English and mathematics in order to
pass the CAHSEE. Adult schools will need to decide if they will use software,
remedial classes and/or remedial guides to assist students with working on their
skills.
Adult schools will also need to revamp their instructional program to
assist students in developing the basic skills necessary to pass the CAHSEE.
The two common instructional practices used by adult schools are independent
study and laboratory classrooms. In both settings, students are assigned course
work by a certified teacher, but it usually consists of packets. In the independent
study mode of instruction, students complete their assignments at home. In the
laboratory classroom mode of instruction, students are still assigned packets, but
they complete their assignments in the classroom. Most adult schools are
discovering that students need more direct instruction in subjects like Algebra
and English. Some of the adult schools I talked have mandated that students
take Algebra and English in a class that uses direct instruction as the primary
mode of delivery (R. Hogan, personal communication, August 9, 2004; F.
Malone, personal communication, October 28, 2004).
Adult school administrators need to use research literature to assist them
in developing and refining their school’s instructional programs. Strong
leadership, high expectations, creating an orderly atmosphere, and monitoring
student achievement are all practices seen in effective schools and are directly
reflected in the principal’s daily operation of their school (Marzano, 2003).
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Adult educators in California need to heed Schmoker’s (1996) advice to
use data as a signpost as they adjust their instructional programs and curriculum
to meet the challenges that the CAHSEE will present for their schools in
upcoming years (Schmoker, -1996). Adult schools need to set measurable
targets for the CAHSEE pass rates as well as set targets for continual
improvement in order to determine how well their school is preparing students to
pass the CAHSEE. Another helpful practice would be to disaggregate each
school’s data in order for school administrators to target areas to improve on
each year. Adult Schools will find that they will have to be data-driven
organizations in this era of accountability, standards, and testing. Data will drive
all of their school’s decisions regarding finances, staffing, programs, and
instruction.
The CAHSEE will have a huge impact on adult schools in California in
upcoming years. It is my belief that in order for adult school students to be
successful on the CAHSEE, adult schools will need to do the following:
■ Promote awareness throughout the state of the CAHSEE and its
potential negative impact on adult schools if students do not pass.
■ Publish data regarding adult school performance on the CAHSEE.
* Share successful strategies that are in use in other adult schools
throughout California.
■ Fight Educational Testing Services for the ability to test multiple times
during a test administration day and test more often throughout the
school year. .
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66
■ Mandate that students earn their Algebra and English credits in a
direct instruction classroom.
■ Use data to drive instruction and to implement remedial strategies.
■ Have high expectations for students and believe that all students can
learn the skills necessary to successfully pass both portions of the
CAHSEE.
■ Administrators will need to develop strong leaderships skills and
visions for their schools to develop instructional programs that will
prepare students to leam the skills necessary to be successful on the
CAHSEE.
Conclusions
Adult schools have existed in California since the late 1890s. The
introduction and implementation of the CAHSEE has been the largest piece of
legislation to effect adult education since President Johnson’s signing of the
Adult Basic Education Act in 1964. Adult schools have always worked with the
neediest students and have not always used California Content Standards to
drive instruction. Not Anymore! Adult schools will have to use California
Standards in the classroom as well as make sure that adult students learn basic
skills in order to pass the CAHSEE. The positive for adult schools is that a
diploma earned through an adult school will have the same clout as a diploma
earned at a comprehensive high school, because all students in California will
have had to pass the same exit examination to prove they possess the basic
skills necessary to be deemed a high school graduate.
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67
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Creswefl, J. (2003). Research Design. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
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promises of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001: Implications for the
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Goldberg, M. (2004, January). The test mess. Phi Delta Kappan, 85, 361-366.
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Jacob, B. (2001, Summer). Getting tough? The impact of high school
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PopharrvW., (2001). The truth about testing: An educators cali to action.
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72
APPENDIX A
INTERVIEW GUIDE FOR ADULT STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
ON THE CALIFORNIA HIGH SCHOOL EXIT EXAMINATION
DURING 2002-2003
School
1. What was your school’s total ADA in 2002-2003?
2. What are the major minority groups served by your school?
3. Is your school considered rural, suburban or urban?
4. What was your school’s total ADA dedicated to Adult Secondary
Education (ASE) during 2002-2003?
5. Is your High School Diploma program taught in a lab format, classroom
format, and/or independent study format?
6. If you have an independent study program, how long is the appointment
with the teacher? How many times a week do students meet with a
teacher? What other requirements do independent study students have
to comply with?
7. Is your school year-round?
8. Does your school administer the Comprehensive Adult Student
Assessment System (CASAS) to ASE students?
9. What is your school’s entry-level CASAS score for ASE students?
10. How do you think the full implementation of the CAHSEE in 2005 will
affect your school?
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73
California High School Exit Examination
1. Did your school administer the CAHSEE during 2002-2003?
2. How many times did you administer the test during 2002-2003?
3. What prompted your school to administer the test during 2002-2003?
4. What did you do with the CAHSEE results?
5. Did you implement changes in instruction and/or remedial strategies
based on your school’s 2002-2003 CAHSEE results? If you did change
instruction and/or implemented remedial strategies, what were they?
6. How did your teachers respond to your school’s initial implementation of
the CAHSEE?
7. How have your teacher’s attitudes changed towards instruction since the
implementation of the CAHSEE in your school?
8. Do you think that the State Board of Education will postpone the CAHSEE
requirement again? Why or why not?
9. If you have not administered the CAHSEE, when will your school
administer it?
10. What strategies are you using or will you use to assist minorities in
passing the CAHSEE?
School Administration
1. How long have you been an adult education administrator?
2. How long have you been an administrator at this school?
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3. In your overall master plan for your school, how important is the_
CAHSEE?
4. How does your school recruit or assign students to take the CAHSEE?
5. What are you going to do about the high failure rate on the CAHSEE?
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75
APPENDIX B
SCHOOL SURVEY
1. What is your current job title?
a. Principal
b. Director
c. Assistant Principal
d. Teacher
e. Other Administrator
2. What is the approximate population of the community your adult school
serves?
a. Under 49,000
b. 50,000 to 199,000
c. Over 200,000
3. What is the ADA cap for your adult school?
4. Does your school use CASAS as an assessment for ABE or ASE
students?
Yes No
5. Does your school have a CAHSEE advisory committee?
Yes No
6. If your school did not administer the CAHSEE during the 2002-2003
school year, why didn’t you?
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76
7. Did your adult school administer the CAHSEE during the 2002-2003
school year?
Yes No
8. What instructional delivery systems are used for your high school diploma
students at your school?
9. What changes in your instructional program are being implemented to
assist students in passing the CAHSEE?
10. Do you think the implementation of the CAHSEE will have a negative
impact on Independent Study in adult schools?
Yes No
Additional Comments:
11. Has your school purchased software to assist in remediating students?
Yes No
Additional Comments:
12. How many times on the CAHSEE test day will your school administer the
test?
a. 0
b. 1
c. 2
13. Does your school administer the CAHSEE:
a. Morning only
b. Evening only
c. Both morning and evening
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77
14. What is the largest minority group served by your school and what is the
percentage?
15. Has your school implemented strategies to assist minority students with
taking and passing the CAHSEE?
Yes No
16. Does your school offer a test preparation class for the CAHSEE?
Yes No
17. What implications do you believe the CAHSEE will have for adult
schools?
18. How many credits does your district require for an adult education
diploma?
19. What are your thoughts about the CAHSEE? Please describe.
20. Please enter your name and contact information if we may contact you to
follow-up on your answers
Name:
School:
Address:
City:
Zip:
E-mail Address:
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Asset Metadata

Creator Willenberg, Corey David (author)

Core Title Adult school student achievement on the California High School Exit Examination: Are adult schools ready for the challenge?

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Education

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag education, adult and continuing,education, curriculum and instruction,education, tests and measurements,OAI-PMH Harvest

Language English

Contributor Digitized by ProQuest (provenance)

Advisor Hocevar, Dennis (committee chair), Cohn, Carl (committee member), Thomas, Glen (committee member)

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c16-335587

Unique identifier UC11340910

Identifier 3180326.pdf (filename),usctheses-c16-335587 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier 3180326.pdf

Dmrecord 335587

Document Type Dissertation

Rights Willenberg, Corey David

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the au...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus, Los Angeles, California 90089, USA