Frequently Asked Questions

Are the CAA Options easier than the HSPE or EOC?
No. The CAA Options are designed—and required by law—to be as challenging as the High School Proficiency Exam (HSPE) or the End of Course Exam (EOC).

Who is eligible to use the CAA Options?
Eligibility for the Grades Comparison and the Advanced Placement and College Test Scores:

• A student must have taken the high school HSPE or EOC at least once before being eligible to access these two options.
  --OR--
• If the student has transferred to a Washington public school in the 11th or 12th grade, they may request direct access to the options.

• A student must have not met standard on the Reading or Writing HSPE two times prior before being eligible to submit a COE. One of the attempts must have been at least one year prior to submitting a COE.
• Students in the classes of 2013 and 2014 must have not met standard on the Mathematics EOC twice (either Year 1 and Year 2 or the same EOC twice) before being eligible to submit a COE. One of the attempts must have been at least one year prior to submitting a COE.

Do eligible students have to use the CAA Options?
No. Students may take the HSPE or EOC. Students have five opportunities from spring of 10th grade to spring of their 12th grade year to take the HSPE or EOC and earn a CAA.

Can students keep taking the HSPE or EOC if they’re working on one of the CAA Options?
Yes.

Can a student use the high school HSPE or EOC to meet standard in one area and use a CAA Option in the other(s)?
Yes.

Is there someone at each school parents/guardians and students can talk to about the CAA Options?
Yes. The school’s CAA Options building facilitator, the student’s counselor or the school principal.

Who is eligible for the Special, Unavoidable Circumstance Appeal?
Students in their 12th grade year who have not met standard on the HSPE (or an approved alternative), and experience a special, unavoidable circumstance that precludes their ability to access a state-approved assessment as a 12th grader, may appeal to a state review board.

What is the Student Transfer Waiver?
A student who transfers into a public school in the 11th or 12th grade from out of state or from an in-state non-public school setting (private or home school) is eligible for direct access to the CAA Options without taking a state exam first. A student who submits a waiver application also automatically has direct access to the CAA Options.