CAHSEE

Question:

Ask SSC . . .  

• Individual or small group instruction

• The hiring of additional teachers

• Purchasing, scoring, and reviewing diagnostic assessments

• Counseling

• Designing instruction to meet specific needs of eligible pupils

• Appropriate teacher training to meet the needs of eligible pupils 

Can high school diplomas may be issuedto students who have not passed the CASHEE but have completed all the requirements before December 31, 2005?

Answer from CDE's CAHSEE Office:

Passing the CAHSEE is a requirement for all students beginning with the
class of 2006. Students who will be receiving a class of 2005 diploma
are not required to meet the CAHSEE requirement. Districts determine
locally how far out they will award a diploma to a particular class of
students. If a district has determined that it will award a class of
2005 diploma to students through December 2005, then students who
graduate prior to this are not required to pass the CAHSEE. All
students receiving a class of 2006 diploma or later are required to pass
the CAHSEE.

Subject:     CAHSEE Requirement of Adult Students

 
The following is a message from the Adult Education Office to all adult school administrators:
 
There have been a number of questions raised about when an adult student will need to pass the California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE) as part of the high school diploma requirements. The response we received from the Department's High School Exit Exam Office is that adult students will be required to pass the CAHSEE to receive a 2006 or later diploma.  Beginning with the 2006 diploma, there is no exception to the requirement to pass the CAHSEE to receive a public high school diploma.
 
This and other questions will be answered in a Q&A that is scheduled to be released by the Department's High School Exit Exam Office in the near future.
 
 If you have any questions, please contact your regional consultant.
 
Adult Education Office

1430 N Street, Ste. 4503

Sacramento, CA 95814-5901

(916) 322-2175

ALSO SEE. . .

back to top

TO:  District and County Superintendents AND Directors of Charter High Schools

FROM:  GAVIN PAYNE, Chief Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction

DATE:   January 9, 2004

Subject:      

In the year 2000, Education Code §51224.5 was enacted to require that students complete the content of Algebra I as a condition of receiving a high school diploma, beginning with the Class of 2004.  We are gratified that virtually every high school in California organized its course offerings and instructional practices to ensure that this year’s seniors will have satisfied the Algebra I requirement.  California students need and deserve the higher level of mathematics content and achievement reflected in the completion of Algebra I.

However, the State Board of Education (State Board) has been advised that a very small number of seniors in certain high schools – who would otherwise graduate in 2004 – may not have completed Algebra I by the end of the school year.

This letter is to notify you that the State Board will consider as a consent matter narrow, limited waivers of the Algebra I requirement for Class of 2004 students who confront this situation.  Consideration of these waivers is premised on the affected students being enrolled in Algebra I during the spring semester and satisfaction of the other provisions listed in the attachment.  Please be advised that the State Board indicated its intent not to consider as a consent matter these types of waivers for students in the Class of 2005 and thereafter.

For more information about applying for a narrow, limited waiver of the Algebra I requirement for affected Class of 2004 students your high school(s), please check with the California Depart-ment of Education’s Waiver Office at (916) 319-0824 or online at www.cde.ca.gov/re/lr/wr/

END

http://www.ed.gov/nclb/methods/teachers/hqtflexibility.pdf

back to top

October 3, 2003

At the September 10-11, 2003 , meeting of the State Board of Education
(SBE), Board members voted unanimously to send out the amended highly
qualified teacher regulations for a 15-day public review. The amendments the
SBE made to the regulations largely addressed changes to the process of a
High Objective Uniform State Standard Evaluation (HOUSSE) as a means for
teachers "not new" to the profession to demonstrate subject matter
competence. 

The previous description of the HOUSSE process under the initial regulations
simply stated that HOUSSE must include some combination of classroom
observation, demonstration of knowledge of applicable Content Standards, and
a portfolio review. This vague description left many in the field confused
over how to administer a HOUSSE. But CDE staff promised more explanation to
come, and they delivered with amended regulations that provide needed
elements to the HOUSSE process.

The amended regulations clarify that the HOUSSE will offer two parts. Part
One will involve a compilation of the all of the following:

1.Years of experience teaching in the grade span or subject-the regulations
state that this component must not account for more than half of the total
necessary to demonstrate subject matter competency.

2.Core academic course work in the assigned grade span or subject.

3.In-depth standards aligned professional development.

4.Service to the profession in the relevant core academic content area.
Examples of this include mentor teachers, curriculum coaches, BTSA support
providers, and department chairs-some area in which a teacher plays a
leadership role due to their expertise in the subject matter.

Part Two will consist of direct observation and portfolio assessment in the
grade span or subject taught, and will only be conducted if Part One does
not identify sufficient teacher experience, course work, professional
development, or service to demonstrate subject matter competence. Part Two
will involve one or more of the components that were listed in the first
draft of the regulations-classroom observation, demonstration of knowledge
of applicable Content Standards, and/or a portfolio review.

Also new to the regulations is the clarification that the HOUSSE must be
conducted by the teacher's supervising administrator with consultation, if
necessary, from a person knowledgeable in the Content Standards for the
appropriate grade span or subject. Further, the teacher needs only to
demonstrate subject matter competency once for each grade span or subject
taught, even if the teacher moves to another school district. And finally,
the regulations state that out-of-state teachers who have met the No Child
Left Behind (NCLB) highly qualified teacher requirements outside of
California will be considered highly qualified in California .

These regulations are now posted for a 15-day comment period. If no
objections to the amendments are received during the 15-day public review,
the regulations will be sent to the Office of Administrative Law for
approval. If objections to the amendments are received during the 15-day
public review, the matter will be placed on the next State Board agenda (to
be heard in November 2003) for consideration.

Remember that CDE staff are developing a Resource Guide for the NCLB teacher
requirements that will be released shortly after these regulations are
finalized. You may monitor the CDE website at http://www.cde.ca.gov/nclb/
for the latest information on meeting the NCLB teacher requirements. (For
more information on the proposed requirements for highly qualified teachers,
see "State Board of Education Approves Highly Qualified Teacher Plan" in the
June 27, 2003, Fiscal Report , page 248.)

back to top

If you would like to share information with other I.S. teachers and post it on this page, email it to bbaker@access.k12.ca.us