More than half of Morgan Hill’s students met federal standards
in both English and math this year. Scores are up over last year
districtwide, including in all subgroups, according to district
officials.
More than half of Morgan Hill’s students met federal standards in both English and math this year. Scores are up over last year districtwide, including in all subgroups, according to district officials.
But numbers are still dropping in mid-level math, indicating the impact of recent district curriculum changes, according to district officials. Results of the 2009 Standardized Testing and Reporting, or STAR, were released Tuesday morning.
This test forms the basis for federal standards, and is administered to students in grades 2 through 11. Scores range from 150 to 600 and, depending on this score, students are ranked in one of five performance levels: below basic, basic, proficient or advanced. The minimum score for ranking proficient, the level considered acceptable by federal standards, is 350.
In a statement released Wednesday evening, Superintendent Dr. Alan Nishino pointed out that under his tenure there, scores in English language arts and math jumped 6 percent.
“Nothing gives us greater satisfaction and pride than seeing our students improve and succeed. Our students and teachers worked hard to make these impressive gains,” Nishino said. “We are proud of the fact that the district is clearly demonstrating that it is on a path of continuous growth. Are we making progress? Yes! Are we satisfied? No! Can we do better? Absolutely, and that is our goal.”
Morgan Hill students scored more than 3 percentage points higher than last year in English, with 54.4 percent of students scoring proficient or above.
Elementary math also saw gains, with students improving by almost 2 percentage points over last year, with 56.5 percent of students scoring proficient or above.
Director of Curriculum and Instruction Dr. Esther Corral-Carlson said she was pleased with the results, which show 6- to 10-point gains in all subjects and subgroups since the test was first administered in 2003.
“We were pleased over that five-year trend,” she said.
While elementary math scores are showing gains, algebra I and II and geometry are resulting in funny numbers that the district attributes to the recent requirement that all eighth graders take algebra I.
“Everything is being affected by these higher expectations, but we’re giving more kids the opportunity to take algebra,” Corral-Carlson said.
In 2006/07, 213 eighth graders took algebra I. During the 2008/09 school year, 417 students were enrolled in algebra I, according to a statement released by the district Wednesday evening. The number of eighth grade students taking geometry tripled from 32 in 2006/07 to 116 in 2008/09.
However, mid-level math scores dropped for the second year in a row. Middle school math dropped 3 percentage points, with 19 percent of students scoring proficient or better. The number of students scoring proficient or better in algebra I dropped 2 percentage points to 18 percent of students, and geometry dropped 1 percentage point with 16 percent of students scoring proficient or better.
Further, while test scores have improved across all subgroups, the achievement gap persists between English language learners and their fluent peers, as well as between impoverished students and their peers.
English language learners scored 21.3 percent in English and 35.9 percent in math, lower than district students overall by 33 percentage points and 21 percentage points, respectively.
Not to be confused with English language learners, Hispanic or Latino students scored 35 percent in English language arts and 39 percent in math, lower than district students overall by 19.4 percentage points and 17.5 percentage points, respectively.
Economically disadvantaged students scored 29.6 percent in English and 36.3 percent in math, lower than district students overall by 25 percentage points and 20 percentage points, respectively.
Corral-Carlson noted that third grade scores jumped 11 percentage points this year, from 38 to 49 percent, which she attributes to curriculum changes.
This grade is especially important, she said. Kindergarten through second grade, students are learning how to read. Starting in third grade, they’re reading to learn, so this is a very important grade to do well in, Corral-Carlson said.
