Okay, put yourself in the shoes of my cousins. You moved here at 16 years of age from China. You learn English because it's required, and hey, you want to fit in and want to be able to speak to other people. You are just as good as your peers academically, but you're just learning English as a second language. Will you pass the High School Exit Exam? Probably not, given the short amount of time you've had to learn the language. This means no graduation. I'm sure you will pass it eventually, given an appropriate amount of time to learn the language and its rules. It just needs some tweaking. Yup I know how you feel. Language is always the hardest thing to absorb especially the idioms for non-native speakers. Moved here at the age of 4 from China, so not much of a problem, but I've helped those who recently arrived. They just have to make a separate test in my opinion. One for those who are dominant in english and one for those who have limited knowledge. I'm not saying that the latter test should be easier either.