Rapaport passes the CHSPE, begins college education early

By Bella Macleod

Executive Features Editor

At only 16 years old, Rebecca Rapaport went from being a sophomore in high school to a freshman in college.

Rebecca Rapaport passed the California High School Proficiency Exam (CHSPE) in the spring of her sophomore year and is now taking classes at El Camino Community College. The CHSPE is an early exit from high school exam provided in the state of California. If passed, students receive a Certificate of Proficiency, which is equivalent to a high school diploma.

“I decided to take the CHSPE because I would always be stressing when finals came around, and I was already taking so many [advanced placement] classes,” Rapaport said. “I tried to find a different way to get in the school I wanted to and save time and money, so this was one of the options that I saw.”  

To prepare for the test, Rapaport studied a CHSPE preparation book.

“[The CHSPE] wasn’t that hard of a test, but they have little books to prepare you for it, so I didn’t want to take any risks [and] I bought one,” Rapaport said. 

Rapaport is currently taking Chemistry 1A, Biology 101 Honors, and Math 190, and completed a Psychology course online.

“Academically, it wasn’t that challenging [to] transition to college at my age, but I’ve only been in it for two weeks now,” Rapaport said. “Socially, it’s a very different atmosphere; I just don’t think that’s something that anyone can prepare you for.”

Rapaport’s main objective is to go to medical school and hopes to attend University of California, Los Angeles as a biology major after two years at El Camino Community College.

“I’m taking classes that are what I need to transfer into UCLA, that way I can transfer as a junior [in college],” Rapaport said. “I want to become a biology major, so for that I need to take a lot more science-based classes.”