Though student scores are flat, on average, Morgan Hill Unified
School District officials see room for optimism as California
Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) scores from spring of
this year were released Wednesday.
Morgan Hill – Though student scores are flat, on average, Morgan Hill Unified School District officials see room for optimism as California Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) scores from spring of this year were released Wednesday.
In English-language arts, 49.3 percent of district students in grades 2-11 scored proficient or advanced, while in math and social studies, 37 percent scored at those top two tiers. In science, 38 percent scored at those levels.
Last year, 49 percent were proficient or advanced in English, 38 percent in math, 43 percent in social studies and 38 percent in science.
“We are never pleased with scores that do not substantially go up and we are working diligently to put all the pieces together to accomplish that goal,” said MHUSD Superintendent Alan Nishino Thursday. “Similar to the test results for the state, we are flat and have declined in some areas. We also see some significant increases if we look at the student sub-groups and individual grade levels. At this time we are not certain of the reasons for these differences. However, I have every confidence in our principals and teachers and we will continue to analyze the data and take the corrective action necessary to stay on track of improving student outcomes.”
Pat Blanar, director of curriculum and assessment for the district, said there are some positive results.
“If you compare last year’s second-grade scores to this year’s third-grade scores, for example, and so on through the grade levels, at 50 percent of the grade levels you see improvement,” said Blanar.
Blanar said she has not “washed” the data in order to remove kids who weren’t in the district the year before or who left the district before the testing this year to be sure the same groups of kids’ scores were being compared.
As with countywide and statewide results, district officials found the student subgroups, including African American, English learners, economically disadvantaged, Hispanics and students with disabilities continue to score lower than their peers.
The tests, administered to students in grades 2 through 11, measure students’ abilities and score them as “far below basic,” “below basic,” “basic,” “proficient” and “advanced.”
Students at the elementary level are tested on English-language arts and math, while fifth, eighth and tenth-grade students are tested in life science. Students at the secondary level are tested in algebra I, geometry, algebra II, or summative high school math, depending on which course they are taking. They are also tested in social science cumulative history, world history, U.S. history, biology, chemistry, earth science and physics, also depending on which courses they are enrolled in.
Scores for students in Santa Clara County were up compared to the state, according to the Santa Clara County Office of Education.
“We can be proud of our students’ accomplishments, but sadly we continue to be plagued by the achievement gap,” said Colleen Wilcox, county superintendent. “Of course, there is no singular practice to close the gap, but teachers having high expectations for students and quality instruction are key to making the difference.”
Blanar said the achievement gap that is a concern statewide can’t be completely evened out until the students at the top of the heap are all pushed into the upper level classes.
“If you compare ’07 scores to ’03, which is what (state) Superintendent (Jack) O’Connell did, you may see some sliding, especially in math,” she said. “That’s because in ’03, we had no seventh-graders taking algebra, for example, it was more of a ninth grade class, and now we groups of kids taking it in eighth grade, some taking it in seventh. Once we get all the kids who are proficient, who are capable of taking the upper level classes into those classes, then we can take a better look at what we need to do to close the achievement gap.”
O’Connell is holding an achievement gap summit in November in Sacramento to address the issue.
“This year’s results offer both encouragement and reason for serious concern,” he said. “We can be pleased that gains in student achievement made over the past five years are either increasing or holding steady. This progress means that hundreds of thousands of California students will have a better shot at success. But the data also show the persistent achievement gaps in our system that California simply cannot afford to accept – morally, economically, or socially.”
