What is “CAHSEE”?
State law, enacted in 1999, authorized the development of the California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE), which students in California public schools would have to pass to ear a high school diploma. Beginning with the 2005-2006 school year, all California public school students are required to pass the CAHSEE and meet all other state and local requirements to earn a high school diploma. The purpose of the CAHSEE is to improve student achievement in high school and to help ensure that students who graduate from high school can demonstrate grade level competency in reading, writing, and mathematics. One part of the CAHSEE addresses state English-language arts content standards through grade ten. This part of the exam, which consists of multiple-choice questions and a writing task, has a reading and decoding section and a writing section. The reading and decoding section covers vocabulary, informational reading, and literary reading. This section includes 50 percent literary texts a
