More seniors statewide are passing the California High School Exit Exam this year than in 2006, according to an independent study released Monday.

At a news conference at Grant High School in Van Nuys, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell announced statewide testing results compiled by the Human Resource Research Organization, an independent evaluator of exit exam results.

County scores will not be available until August. But statewide, more than 390,600, or 91 percent, of students from the Class of 2007 had passed both the English language arts and mathematics portions of the test as of February a 2 percent increase compared with the same period last year, according to the study.

Since May, an additional 4,797 students from the Class of 2006 have passed the exit exam and are now eligible to receive diplomas, the study also found.

The exam covers English through ninth grade, and math through the level of algebra. Students can start taking the test during their sophomore year and have three chances to take it in their senior year.

Ventura County Superintendent of Schools Charles Weis said he is pleased with the results and anticipates similar improvements when the county numbers are released.

"Every year, there should be an increase because there are a lot more support systems than even a year ago," Weis said.

Tutoring is available

Weis said school districts throughout the county have provided after-school tutoring and remediation instruction at adult education schools.

About 40 students from Ventura, Pacific and Buena high schools are enrolled in an exit exam remediation program at the Ventura Adult and Continuing Education center on Valentine Road. The program is run by the Ventura Unified School District.

Students in the program have already shown remarkable results, said Teresa Johnson, director of Ventura Adult and Continuing Education.

About 81 percent of the students have passed the math portion of the test and 62 percent the English language arts requirements, Johnson said.

"This year, we spent a lot of time looking at best practices to work with students as well as intervention programs," Johnson said. "We've also hired a consultant to analyze the curriculum so we can make sure students master the concepts and have good test-taking skills. It's the last chance for them."

The study released Monday also showed that more students in different subgroups are passing the high school exam.

As of February, black students in the Class of 2007 have increased their passage rate by 4.5 percentage points over the Class of 2006. Hispanic students showed a gain of 3.4 percent, and white students a 0.5 percent increase.

"We are also making strides in narrowing the achievement gap," O'Connell said. "This is really one of the first times I have seen an indication using data that the achievement gap is beginning to be addressed and narrowing ever so slightly."

However, O'Connell said he was still deeply concerned about the English learners subgroup students still learning the English language who only gained 1.4 percent in 2007 compared with last year's class.

Governor offers more money

In a statement released shortly after O'Connell announced the study's results, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said his proposed 2007-08 state budget will provide $5 million for materials to help students who have failed or are at risk of failing the exit exam.

The proposed budget also earmarks $72.4 million for supplemental instruction to help students pass the exam.