Sonoma County (California):

Sun Aug 17 13:37:14 UTC 2008

STAR tests show local students lagging

2nd-graders' results attributed to increasing number of English
learners in Sonoma County
By KERRY BENEFIELD
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Sonoma County second-graders tested in math and English last spring
did not score as well as students throughout California, marking the
first time a local grade level has fallen behind peers statewide in
those key subjects.

External Links:
Find your school's test scores
Thursday's release of annual standardized test results show 45 percent
of the county's second-graders scored proficient or advanced in
English, compared with 48 percent of students statewide.

In math, 58 percent of local second-graders were proficient or
advanced, compared with 59 percent statewide.

The change points to a growing number of children entering school
without a solid understanding of English, said Sonoma County
Superintendent of Schools Carl Wong.

The early grades have the highest concentration of students for whom
English is a second language, Wong said, noting the tests are given in
Eng-lish.

"If you are not academically proficient in English, it does place the
student at a disadvantage," he said.

In releasing results from the Standardized Testing and Reporting, or
STAR, program, state Superintendent Jack O'Connell lauded an overall
statewide increase of 3 percentage points in math and English.

However, he said the achievement gap between white students and
Latinos and African Americans is a concern.

"From a moral, social and economic perspective, it's absolutely
critical that we help those students," O'Connell said.

Nearly 5 million public school students in grades 2 through 11 took
the STAR test last spring. In coming weeks, results will be used to
determine which schools met state and federal accountability standards
-- a bar that will be markedly higher for federal targets this year.

In general, a STAR score of proficient or advanced indicates a child
is on track for a college prep curriculum. A score of basic equates to
a C grade, and below basic or far below basic mean a student needs
intervention to meet standards.

But even on campuses with high overall test scores, the latest
second-grade scores sputtered.

At Proctor Terrace Elementary, one of the higher-performing schools in
the Santa Rosa City Schools district, second-graders dropped 26
percentage points in English, with 63 percent scoring proficient or
above. Math scores fell from 84 percent being proficient or above to
60 percent.

"Our teachers were scratching their heads also," said Principal
Stephen Mayer. "When it doesn't meet our expectations, we obviously
look at everything we are doing, we analyze everything we are doing in
the classroom and see what we can do to change things."

Countywide, officials were mulling numbers that show the overall gap
is narrowing for students who have tested better than the statewide
average in English, math, science and history/social science.

"It is a little worrisome because we have seen this for about the last
two or three years," said Don Russell, assistant superintendent of the
Sonoma County Office of Education.

This year, half of Sonoma County's second- through 11th-graders scored
proficient or advanced in English while 46 percent of students
statewide reached those levels.

In math, 54 percent of local second- through seventh-graders scored
proficient or advanced on the general math test, matching the
statewide score.

The number of students considered proficient in English throughout the
state increased from 35 percent to 46 percent. The increase in math
proficiency went from 40 percent to 53 percent.

In Lake County, four out of 10 students were proficient or advanced in
English, and 47 percent scored as well in math. In Mendocino County,
students scored 40 percent and 42 percent respectively.

Since 2003, the number of Mendocino County students considered
proficient or advanced in English increased from 32 percent to 40
percent. In math, the scores went from 30 percent to 42 percent.

"If you compare that to other states, what we consider basic in our
state, the rest of the nation considers proficient," said Catherine
Stone, superintendent of the Mendocino Unified School District. "It is
fairly common knowledge that California set the bar very high."

In Petaluma, McKinley Elementary students bucked Sonoma County's
second-grade performance trend. Forty-two percent scored proficient or
advanced on the English test, a 32 percent increase from 2007.

"We are delighted," Principal Sherry Devine said. "We are being very
purposeful about what it is we are teaching children and having
children know what they are going to learn."

Of the McKinley students tested, about 69 percent were
English-learners and nearly 80 percent were economically
disadvantaged.

McKinley has been classified as a "program improvement site" for two
years under federal accountability guidelines and faces a steep hurdle
in the coming weeks when scores for No Child Left Behind mandates are
released.

This year, to meet federal standards, 35 percent of students need to
be proficient or advanced in English, up from 24 percent in years
past. In math, the requirement rises from 26.5 percent to 37 percent.

Those targets will continue to escalate until 2014, when every
California student is expected to be academically proficient.

"The staff is so excited that we made this kind of growth," Devine
said. "Yes, it's difficult and yes, the bar is still raised, but our
main thing is that we needed to see progress in our students and we
saw that."

The Sept. 4 release of the new federal Adequate Yearly Progress
standards are likely to dim excitement even among schools with
significant gains this year, said Rachel Perry, director of the
California Department of Education's policy and evaluation division.

"I'm concerned that more schools will miss the AYP this year," she
said. "The 11 percent jump is just so high."

That hurdle is even higher among students of color, officials said Thursday.

Closing the achievement gap between white students and Latinos in
Sonoma County is "where the real work needs to be done," according to
Wong.

The increasing Latino population and the division in how well they do
in the classroom compared with white students must spark a change in
teaching methods, he said.

"It really does say this is something which is not of the interest
exclusively of educators," he said. "It is in the interest of
government, business and social agencies. It's fundamental to the
quality of life and economic vitality of Sonoma County."

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20080815/NEWS/808150332&title=STAR_tests_show_local_students_lagging

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