STAR scores on the rise 

The 2006 Standardized Testing and Reporting program results demonstrate both consistent improvements in overall student performance and lingering, unacceptably high gaps in student achievement, state Superintendent Jack O’Connell said as he released the scores Aug. 15.

Of the 4.7 million students who participated in the STAR program, 42 percent scored at the proficient or advanced level in English language arts in 2006, an increase of two percentage points over last year and seven points over 2003, the first year that all tests were completely aligned to state standards.

In math, 40 percent of students scored advanced or proficient—two percentage points higher than last year and five points higher than in 2003.

The STAR program consists of four tests: the California Standards Tests, California Alternative Performance Assessment, California Achievement Tests and Aprenda, a nationally normed exam given in Spanish.

STAR scores are among the factors used to determine whether California schools and districts have made Adequate Yearly Progress. O’Connell said the state will release 2006 statewide AYP rankings on Aug. 31.

Urban district analysis
The extensive state analysis of this year’s STAR scores included results from five of the state’s largest urban districts, including Los Angeles Unified, as examples of how districts with special challenges have made impressive improvements in student achievement over the past three years.

The percentage of LAUSD students who scored at proficient or advanced levels in English jumped seven points between 2003 and 2006, the state reported, from 23 percent to 30 percent. In math, the percentage of Los Angeles students who scored at the proficient and advanced level rose five points between 2003 and 2006, from 26 percent to 31 percent.

“These results confirm what CSBA and the LAUSD governing board have said repeatedly during the debate over Assembly Bill 1381,” the legislation designed to transfer significant authority from the elected LAUSD school board to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, said Rick Pratt, CSBA’s assistant executive director for Governmental Relations. “LAUSD has demonstrated significant progress in recent years towards closing the achievement gap.”

O’Connell pleased with progress
O’Connell said he was extremely pleased that public school students throughout the state continue to make steady progress in nearly every subject and grade level.

“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,” he said.

This year was the third year that fifth-graders have been tested in science and the first year for students in grades eight and 10. Fifth-grade science scores in 2006 rose to 32 percent proficient or advanced, from 24 percent in 2004. Thirty-eight percent of eighth-graders scored at proficient or advanced levels in science this year and 34 percent of tenth-graders received proficient or advanced scores in 2006.

Achievement gap persists
At the same time, O’Connell said he remains disheartened about what he called the “unacceptably high” achievement gap separating white and Asian students from Latino, African American and economically disadvantaged students.

In English language arts, for example, 64 percent of Asian students and 60 percent of white students scored at the advanced or proficient level in 2006, compared to only 27 percent of economically disadvantaged students, 29 percent of African American students and 27 percent of Latino students who scored at those levels.

An impressive 67 percent of Asian students and 53 percent of white students scored proficient or advanced in math. By comparison, only 24 percent of African American students, 30 percent of economically disadvantaged students and 30 percent of Latino students scored at the proficient or advanced levels.

Test scores for California’s lower-performing student subgroups have generally improved at the same rates as white and Asian student scores. But to close the gap, African Americans, Latinos and economically disadvantaged students have to make twice as much progress as their higher-scoring peers.

“Closing the achievement gap is my top priority for the next four years,” O’Connell said. He praised the governor and Legislature for allocating additional money in this year’s budget for teacher training, more counselors, supplemental instruction and support for students struggling to pass the California High School Exit Exam. Last year’s CAHSEE remediation funds could not provide services for every student who needed help with
the exam.

Public school supporters have long contended that the state must determine how much it would cost to provide a quality education that would enable all California students to reach proficiency under the state’s rigorous academic standards.

Extensive research on the question is now under way to determine whether additional resources are needed to meet those standards. CSBA is working closely with other leading education associations, community groups and foundations to build public awareness of and support for this campaign.

Related link:
See the state Department of Education’s information on STAR @ www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/sr/