As the California High drill Exit Exam becomes more inevitable.

As the California High drill Exit Exam becomes more inevitable, a slightly increasing number of observers are passing the math and English parts of the exhibition on the first try, according to data from the state Department of Education.

In Dublin, 92 percent of sophomores in 2006 aced the math portion the first time, compared with 88 percent the previous year. The West Contra Costa academy district saw the percentage of first-timers passing English advance by 4 percentage points in the past three years. And in Mt Diablo, the percentage of sophomores succeeding in the one and the other subject areas has inched up 1 point since 2004

Jack O'Connell state superintendent of drills said small increases such as these in the East Bay means a big payoff across California down the road.

"We're forward track to a passing rate that's unruffled greater than that of the class of 2006 who walked