State of California public education

According to Wikipedia, California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE) is a requirement for high school graduation in the state of California, 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 must pass the exam before they can receive a high school diploma."  Wikipedia also shares the following data, which was provided by the California Department of Education. 

Percentage of 10th graders passing the test on their first attempt

School year	Passing math test	Passing English test
2003-2004	74%	75%
2004-2005	74%	76%
2005-2006	76%	77%
2006-2007	76%	77%
2007-2008	78%	79%
2008-2009	80%	79%
2009-2010	81%	81%
2010-2011	83%	82%
2011-2012	82%	79%
2012-2013	85%	83%

But this conflicts with passing rates reported for the summer of 2014 by KQED, "According to state data, last summer 4,847 math tests were given with 1,286 (26.5 percent) students passing and 5,826 English Language Arts tests were given with 1,248 (21.4 percent) students passing."
The above are brought to attention, because of an article about how California is scrapping the CAHSEE (http://townhall.com/columnists/michaelreagan/2015/09/03/draft-n2047514).

I'm not sure which figures are correct, but the following are certainties.  The exit exam can be taken beginning in the sophomore year, seriously calling into question how such a test can evaluate what knowledge and skills a California student is expected/required to acquire by the end of four years of high school.  And, whatever the design or intent, according to the above article, the exit exam has been done away with, also seriously calling into question the exam, its construct, and the effectiveness of California public education.