Educators hail test scores for Marin schools - Marin IJ - August 16, 2006 by Reporter Rob Rogers

Educators hail test scores for Marin schools

Marin IJ
by Reporter Rob Rogers

Marin officials are hailing modest improvements in state STAR test scores for schools and districts throughout the county. "It's amazing that in districts and schools that were already performing at high levels, we're still seeing growth," said Mary Jane Burke, county superintendent of schools.

The state released the results of its 2006 Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) program Tuesday. The report showed slight increases in student scores statewide, with the levels of students at the proficient or advanced level in English growing by 5 percent and in mathematics by 2 percent in the past year.

"It is now clear that after almost 10 years of standards-based reform, including four years of complete alignment between our standards and our tests, education in California is clearly making meaningful, sustained improvement," said Jack O'Connell, state superintendent of public instruction.

While overall scores across Marin remain largely the same, school officials are touting achievements in particular schools that have made substantial improvements.

In San Rafael's Coleman Elementary School, for example, third-graders boosted their percentage of at- or above-proficiency scores in English from 29 to 54 percent, and in math from 42 to 73 percent.

"I'm pleasantly surprised by the results at Coleman, where we've seen tremendous growth," said San Rafael schools chief Laura Alvarenga. "We're still processing all of the data, but at a glance, Glenwood is doing well and Sun Valley is doing extremely well. Some schools are bringing their students up to grade level while others are showing considerable improvement."

Students at Bayside Elementary School in the Sausalito Marin City District achieved something even more dramatic. While the school itself received one of the county's lowest Academic Performance Index ratings last year, the 2006 STAR results showed that 100 percent of Bayside's 11 fourth-graders scored at or above proficiency in mathematics.

"As a district, we were impressed with the results," said Superintendent Debra Bradley. "We've seen some substantial improvement, especially in the second and fourth grades. Those scores reflect the work that has been done by some dedicated teachers. We need to engage all of our students and provide those kinds of opportunities to all of our children."

More than 4.7 million students participated in the STAR program, which includes the California Standards Test (CST), the California Alternate Performance Assessment (CAPA), the California Achievement Test (CAT/6) and the new Aprenda: La preuba de logros en espanol, Tercera edicion (Aprenda-3), a national standards test in Spanish.

Students achieve one of five levels of performance on the CST for each subject: advanced, proficient, basic, below basic or far below basic. All students in grades 2-11 take English/language arts exams. Those in grades 2-9 take mathematics exams, while those in grades 5, 8 and 10 take science tests. Students in grade 8 take a world history exam, while high school sophomores are tested in U.S. history.

As expected, most Marin schools continued to perform well above the statewide average. In English, for example, fourth-grade Marin students met or exceeded proficiency 75 percent of the time, while the state average was 25 percent. In mathematics, Marin fifth-graders reached or surpassed proficiency 70 percent of the time, in contrast to a 48 percent state average.

"If the schools are going to take credit for the successes of these students, it's only in combination with the support of the whole community," Burke said. "They've supported the schools through the work they've done with foundations, parent-teacher associations, parcel taxes and in other ways. We've received exceptional public support."

Districts with high percentages of affluent, English-fluent students continued to shine, while those with large numbers of disadvantaged students or English learners reported lower scores.

"The achievement gap persists between African American students, Latino students or socio-economically disadvantaged students and their white or Asian peers," O'Connell said.

Fifth-grade English learners in Marin, for example, scored at or above proficiency 17 percent of the time on the English exam and 29 percent of the time on the math exam. Marin students fluent in English, on the other hand, reached or exceeded proficiency 78 percent of the time in English and 76 percent of the time in math.

Alvarenga said that contrast helps explain the difference in scores between students at San Rafael High - where 47 percent of high school freshmen achieved or exceeded proficiency in English - and nearby Terra Linda High, where 65 percent did.

"The population of two of our high schools is entirely different," she said. "We have an extremely large number of language learners at San Rafael High. But the fluent-English speakers at San Rafael performed similarly to those at Terra Linda."

Throughout the county, third-grade students considered "non-economically disadvantaged" scored at or above proficiency 72 percent of the time in English and 79 percent of the time in math, while those considered "economically disadvantaged" scored 22 percent and 46 percent, respectively.

At Ross Elementary School, where 301 out of 305 students who participated in the STAR program were considered "non-economically disadvantaged," students captured the county's highest scores in English for fifth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students and in mathematics for sixth- and seventh-grade students. Seventy-five percent of Ross third-graders achieved proficiency or higher in English, while 93 percent did so in math.

At Bayside Elementary, where 65 out of 71 participating students were listed as "economically disadvantaged," only 14 percent of third-graders were proficient or higher in English, and only 65 percent reached that goal in math.

Tuesday's CST scores are considered preliminary, because some school districts have not yet completed testing or reviewed their test results. The state will post a more complete record of the scores in October and a final version in December.

Contact Rob Rogers via e-mail at rrogers@marinij.com

Article Launched: 08/16/2006 12:48:00 AM PDT