STAR results show steady progress toward proficiency, yet gap persists

California public schoolchildren continue to make consistent improvement in mastering the state’s academic standards, although a gap in achievement between white students and their black and Hispanic peers remains unchanged for the seventh year.

The Standardized Testing and Reporting Program tests students each spring in English-language arts, math, science and history-social science. Fifty percent of all students scored proficient or above in English this year, which is a 15 percent improvement since the tests were first administered in 2003. Forty-six percent of students scored proficient or above on math standards tests for grades 2-7 or on end-of-course exams for older students. The greatest improvement in math was in fifth grade, where the proficiency rate has climbed 22 percent since 2003.

“I am pleased and encouraged to see that for the seventh year in a row, California public school students continue to improve,” state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell said. “Half of our students are now proficient in English-language arts. This is particularly impressive if you consider that seven years ago, only 35 percent of students met this bar.”

Although heartened by students’ steady progress toward mastery of academic content standards “known nationally for [their] rigor,” O’Connell said he was disappointed to see virtually no progress toward closing an achievement gap that appears to be solely related to race. Specifically, the results showed that black students who are not economically disadvantaged scored about the same in English as white students who are economically disadvantaged. Similarly, the gap between white and Hispanic or Latino students has narrowed very little over the past seven years.

“The number one priority of my office is to close this persistent achievement gap that deprives too many students of color opportunities to succeed in school and in life,” said O’Connell, pledging to support of the efforts of local educational agencies to close achievement gaps.

More than 4.7 million students took STAR tests this year. For the first time, the program included results for the California Modified Assessment, a new exam that allows some students with disabilities to demonstrate their mastery of California content standards. The CMA currently tests grades 3-5 in English and math and grade 5 in science. The California Alternate Performance Assessment is provided for students with significant cognitive disabilities.

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Find a state-level summary of STAR results, access to school, district and county-level scores, and tips from the California Department of Education on explaining the results to the public @ http://star.cde.ca.gov