Calif. Schools Chief Sticks by Exit-Exam Requirement

California’s schools chief will not support alternative measures for high school seniors without disabilities who have not passed the state’s high school exit test in time to graduate this June.

Students must have the mathematics and English skills measured by the exam to thrive in an increasingly competitive global economy, Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell said in announcing his position on the issue Jan. 6.

His stance drew immediate fire from civil rights advocates and others. They say the exam policy is unfair to as many as 50,000 students in the class of 2006 who may not be able to pass both the math and English sections of the test by June, when it is scheduled to...