Passing grades just doesn’t guarantee graduation and a high school diploma anymore in many public schools across the nation. To ensure that students who receive high school diplomas meet basic requirements of academic proficiency and job readiness, many states across the nation have adopted the exit exams that students must pass in order to graduate and receive a diploma. State exit exams are most often based on 10th grade proficiency standards; a few states aligned their exams to the 8th and 9th grade levels and some others to the 11th and 12th grade levels (www.cep-dc.org August 2006). The number of states that are implementing this law is on the rise throughout the United States. The high school exit exam covers skills in language arts and math. There are several mixed feelings on whether high school exit exams should be required both positive and negative. These mixed feelings come from many different kinds of people such as students, parents, teachers and even politicians. Along with these exit exam comes controversy, hidden cost, and the possibilities of drop out rates sky rocketing to record lows. The over all intentions of this law are set to help students and prepare them for the future in the “real world” as we sometimes refer to life after high school.