After passing the CHSPE, you can choose to graduate high school immediately, with your parent's or guardian's permission.

Many students choose to remain enrolled in their high school, but take classes at a community college because community college is free for high school students. Your high school will probably require that you complete the CHSPE graduation forms first! This means that if you violate your high school's rules, the "CHSPE diploma" still will be given to you.

As an alternative, enroll in an independent study high school, like Monte Vista, which allows you to walk in a normal high school graduation and to take community college classes with no hassles.

Passing the CHSPE gives you power and protection while you seek higher education or a full time job. Even if you just hang out, which isn't smart, you're better off with a CHSPE Certificate of Completion.

The CHSPE has 50 math and 50 English multiple-choice problems. It is harder than the California High School Exit Exam, CAHSEE. Free example problems can be downloaded. At least four companies are selling guides. See More Stuff at the top of this page.

The CHSPE was designed to help students earn the equivalent to a high school diploma in California when it was outside their ability to complete high school. For example, students who move often usually earn zero credits, but actually learn a reasonable amount of the content of their courses. It's a test that shows that at least two years of High School English and two years of High School Math (Algebra 1 and some Geometry) were mastered.

The CHSPE is an excellent route to go if the regular high school or independent study or continuation high school is not a fit (socially, emotionally and/or academically), especially if you are mature and have reached a proficient level in Language Arts and Math. Also, if you're an English Learner you may request additional breaks within the testing time, a small group setting, and the use of translation glossaries/word lists (English-to-primary language and/or primary language-to-English).

People succeed after earning the CHSPE and graduating. One student took the CHSPE after Mater Dei and Estancia didn't fit. She was very mature but was very unhappy at both schools. She did very well at OCC and ended up one year of college ahead of her class. She now works in Newport-Mesa Unified at Whittier Elementary, teaches courses at UCI in the Graduate School of Education Credentialing progam, and will finish her doctoral dissertation soon.

Note: the CHSPE works in California. Organizations in other states may or may not accept it. This is one more reason to enter a community college after receiving a CHSPE. Be a college student. More importantly, neither the Marines, nor the Navy accept the CHSPE as a high school diploma. The Army will accept it, if 15 credits of college (one semester) has been earned.

The GED is simply a test you take after you're 18 saying that you learned stuff that a high school graduate is expected to know. You're NOT allowed to call yourself a high school graduate if you pass it's five sections.

If you pass the CHSPE, you can say that you're a high school graduate. In short, the GED is not as good to have as the CHSPE, but it has one great strength: people know about it. You can say: "Yeah, I passed the GED," and many people will know what you did. Saying "I passed the CHSPE," will make people say: "huh?" The solution is for you to say "I'm a high school graduate." Who cares how you earned the certificate or diploma.

By the way GED stands for General Educational Development, not General Equivalency Diploma.

Just like on the CAHSEE, if you fail just Math or just English, you retake only the one you failed. However, you will pay the full price for half of the CHSPE!

Take your test results to your school counselor. If you want to stay in school, just stay. You don't have to do a thing.

If you want to go to community college for free, while staying in high schoo, then ask your counselor to transfer you to Monte Vista High School, located at 390 Monte Vista in Costa Mesa. You will enroll for one high school class at a time and up to two community college classes. Special permission is needed to allow you to take more classes.

If you want to attend a community college full time, go to Monte Vista High School and ask the counselor for the paperwork to graduate. This could be done at your school, but Monte Vista is the expert. You can immediately enroll in OCC and take up to four classes (12 units).

Yes, but they must be very, very basic! Only four functions, plus %, square root (not square), and change sign (+/-) are permitted and the screen cannot be readable by other people.

Both Texas Instruments' TI-1706 SV and Casio's HL-10 meet the rules.

Dennis Ashendorf (aka Mr. A) has several HL-10's to loan.