For the Class of 2007, HumRRO, the Human Resources Research Organization (HumRRO), the independent evaluator of the CAHSEE, found that as of February of this year, more than 390,697 students have passed both the English-language arts and mathematics portions of the CAHSEE, bringing the cumulative passing rate to an estimated 91.4 percent. This passage rate is 2.1 percentage points higher than the passage rate for the Class of 2006 at the same point in time last year.  "I am happy to report that intensive instruction and remediation is showing results for students most at risk for failing the exam," O’Connell said. "Nearly $70 million of state funding is targeted specifically to help those students succeed. Our efforts are paying off. We are making strides in narrowing the achievement gap."

Students in nearly every subgroup in the class of 2007 are passing the CAHSEE at a higher rate than their counterparts in the Class of 2006 did at the same point in time. For example, African American students in the Class of 2007 as of February increased their passage rate on the exam by 4.5 percentage points when compared to their counterparts in the Class of 2006 at the same point in time last year. Similarly, Hispanic students showed a gain of 3.4 percent. By comparison, the gain for white students was half of one percentage point, and 2.1 percentage points for the class as a whole. Among English learners, however, the gain was only 1.4 percentage points