The California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE) was an examination created by the California Department of Education, that was previously mandated to administer in high schools statewide in order to graduate. The examination was suspended in 2015, when Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill undoing the decade old requirement (the bill went into effect January 2016). It was originally created by the California Department of Education to improve the academic performance of California high school students, and especially of high school graduates, in the areas of reading, writing, and mathematics. In addition to other graduation requirements, public school students needed to pass the exam before they could receive a high school diploma. Students first took the test in the beginning of their sophomore year. If they do not pass one or both of the two test sections, then they may retake the section or sections that they have not yet passed. Up to 2 test (or 8) opportunities are available to students before the end of their senior year. The test was originally intended to be required of students graduating in 2004, but full implementation was delayed until the class of 2006. Approximately 90% of students ultimately passed by the end of the 2005-2006 school year. In 2010, 81% of 10th graders passed each of the two sections on their first try. History Prior to the CAHSEE, the high school exit exams in California were known as the High School Competency Exams and were developed by each district pursuant to California law. In 1999, California policy-makers voted to create the CAHSEE in order to have a state exam that was linked to the state’s new academic content standards. The legislative bill to create the CAHSEE was championed by former state senator Jack O'Connell. The first students to take the test were volunteers from the class of 2004, who took it as high school Freshmen in spring 2001 (March and May). In October 2001, Assembly Bill 1609 removed the option for ninth graders to take the CAHSEE beginning with the 2002 administration. The CAHSEE was next administered in the spring of 2002 to all tenth graders who had not passed it during the spring 2001 administration. Initially, the CAHSEE was intended as a graduation requirement for the class of 2004; the State Board of Education later revised the deadline and it was officially imposed first on the class of 2006. Due