The author reports on a study released in April 2009 that suggests that California's high school exit exams are affecting some student demographic groups more than others. The California study, which was released by the Institute for Research on Education Policy and Practice at Stanford University, is the latest in a small spate of studies pointing to trade-offs from policies that require high school students to pass state tests to graduate. While proponents see the exams as a way to spur students to higher levels of achievement, critics worry that the requirements come down harder on students from poor families, minority groups, or underresourced schools. The California study gauges the effect of the Golden State's 6-year-old graduation policy on the first three graduating classes to take the new exit exams in four of the state's largest districts. Collectively enrolling 110,000 high school students, the districts serve students in Fresno, Long Beach, San Diego, and San Francisco. Researchers found that, after 2004, when 10th graders took the exit exams for the first time, graduation rates across the four districts declined by 3.6 to 4.5 percentage points each year.