August 31, 2006

Almaden schools shine brightly on California STAR Tests

By Lorraine Gabbert
Staff Writer

The continued success of Almaden Valley schools was reflected through stellar 2006 California Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) scores, recently released by the California Department of Education.

Almaden Valley’s elementary, middle and high school scores continued to climb, demonstrating growth from 2005 to 2006, with Los Alamitos Elementary School showing the least, and Almaden Elementary School and Pioneer High School making the greatest gains.

According to California State Standards, every student must reach the proficient or advanced level of learning. In this respect, Almaden schools are performing well with the increasing scores and percentile growth of achieving students. At Los Alamitos Elementary School, which showed the least growth, 84 percent of its students have met the state standards, scoring in proficient or advanced categories in English-language arts and 82 percent in mathematics.

Dr. Aaron Buchanan, director of Testing and Educational Accountability, is pleased with the successful STAR results of Almaden Valley schools and especially impressed by the growth demonstrated by Graystone, Simonds and Williams elementary schools. “These schools had good solid growth this year,” he said, “which is hard to do that when you’re a high-scoring school.”

Graystone Elementary School’s percentage of proficient and advanced students showed a 4.9 percent gain in mathematics and a 3.8 percent growth in English-language arts. In math, 88 percent of its students are proficient or advanced and 84 percent are in English.

Los Alamitos Elementary School scores dipped slightly from 2005, showing a 5.9 percent loss in mathematics and a 4.3 loss in English-language arts. However, its overall percentage of success remains in the 80s.

Simonds Elementary School increased the percentage of its students scoring proficient or advanced by 5.5 percent in mathematics and 2.0 percent in English-language arts, with 85 percent reaching the proficient or advanced mark in mathematics and 82 percent in English-language arts.

Williams Elementary School experienced a 2.4 percent increase in students reaching proficient or advanced status in mathematics and a 1.1 percent growth in English-language arts. Their percentage of proficient or advanced students is 93 percent in mathematics and 90 percent in English-language arts, the highest percentages of proficient and advanced students in the district.

By individual subject, Almaden schools made modest to noteworthy percentage gains. Graystone Elementary School’s third grade math students displayed a 7.05 percent increase. Guadalupe Elementary School’s fourth grade math students made the grade with an 8.77 percent increase. Los Alamitos Elementary School’s greatest growth was reflected by fourth grade English students with a rise of 2.12 percent. Simonds Elementary School’s fourth grade math students beamed with a 7.12 percent growth and Williams Elementary School’s fourth grade math students reached a 5.47 percent growth.

Point-wise, scores both dipped and soared by subject at Almaden Schools. The following reflects the best in each school’s subject-specific achievements:

Graystone Elementary School’s second graders scored with an increase of 21.3 in math, exceeded by their third grade point increase of 29.6.

Guadalupe Elementary School’s point growth was focused on its fourth graders, who made tremendous strides of
28.5 points in English-language arts and 35.2 points in mathematics.

Los Alamitos Elementary School’s fourth grade scores increased by 8.7 points in English and 5.5 points in math.

Simonds Elementary School posted across the board growth in mathematics, with noteworthy point gains of 22.4, 20.2 and 28.5 in grades two, three and four.

Williams Elementary School showed its strength with its best point increase of 23.5 in fourth grade math.

Almaden middle schools also experienced growth in the percentage of students who have achieved proficient and advanced scores. In mathematics, an additional 2.6 percent of students at Bret Harte Middle School reached proficient or advanced levels. Although they experienced a slight percentile loss of .40 percent in English-language arts, 77 percent of its students meet state standards, being proficient or advanced in this subject, while an impressive 81 percent of its students are proficient or advanced in mathematics.

At Castillero Middle School the percentage of students scoring proficient or advanced grew by 6.7 percent in mathematics and .40 percent in English-language arts. In mathematics, 56 percent of the students are proficient or advanced and 62 percent make the grade in English-language arts.

Bret Harte Middle School’s scores increased in mathematics, most notably with gains of 22.6 and 21.1 points in eighth grade algebra and geometry. As a high-scoring school, Buchanan believes that Bret Harte’s API scores will rise above 900 in 2006. Castillero Middle School experienced its best growth in mathematics. Most outstanding were their increases of 58.1 and 53.7 points in eighth grade algebra 1 and geometry 1. “Castillero had good growth in math,” says Buchanan, “and I’m pleased to see that.”

Leland High School, another high-scoring school, experienced gains in both math and English-language arts. The percentage of students reaching proficient or advanced standing in mathematics grew by 4.3 percent and by 2.5 percent in English-language arts. In mathematics, 56 percent of students are proficient or advanced and in English-language arts, 77 percent meet the state standards. At Pioneer High School, the school experienced a 3.0 percent growth in those who are proficient or advanced in English-language arts and a spectacular 10.5 percent growth in students achieving proficient or advanced status in mathematics. Their 2006 scores indicate that 33 percent of students are proficient or advanced in mathematics, while 60 percent reached their goal in English-language arts.

Leland High School’s most noteworthy gain was 29.8 points in ninth grade algebra 1 as well as its 27.5 EOC algebra 1 point gain, which reflects the combined scores of every Leland student who took that test. Buchanan credits their success with employing strategies to assist their borderline students in gaining proficiency.

Leigh High School’s ninth grade general math class showed an impressive growth of 19.4 points and their tenth grade algebra II increased by 16.3 points.

It was Pioneer High School, which was this year’s overall shining star, becoming one of the district’s double-digit schools with its 10.5 percent gain in mathematics. Their ninth grade algebra 1 scores increased by 25.6 points, while tenth grade scores rose by 38.7. Their combined EOC algebra 1 score gained 23.5 points, ninth grade geometry grew by 20.1 points, ninth grade algebra 11 grew by 39 points and tenth grade algebra II grew by 36.6 points. “Pioneer did great,” said Buchanan. “They really did.”

“We’re really proud of our double-digit growth,” said Pioneer High School Principal Sandra Engel. “We have a very dedicated staff which used our test data to analyze where our students strengths and weaknesses were. Our use of pacing calendars and benchmark tests, aligned with the state standards, gave us true accountability, resulting in improvement in student learning across the board.”

Buchanan agrees. “Pioneer did well in using data to intervene with struggling students,” he said. “They are not an underperforming school, so they don’t have to do those things. They’ve done a lot on their own and they have a good team out there. I give Pioneer really high points.”

Engel believes that Pioneer’s API scores have also grown and that this year they will rise from their previous score of 777 to achieve the magic 800 number. However, in the end, Engel acknowledges that it’s not all about test scores, but learning, and how students will take their knowledge to the next step. “Our district’s goal is to develop a college-bound culture,” she notes. In the meantime, both the students and teaching staff at Pioneer can bask in the glow of their accomplishments. “We are a school of choice with a long waiting list,” says Engel, “and we’re very proud.”

SJUSD Public Information Officer Karen Fuqua is impressed that Pioneer High School experienced double-digit growth in its STAR testing. “Our other schools also showed growth on their scores,” she said, “and for them to continue to grow is phenomenal because their scores are so high. We’re just very proud of the fact that the students and teachers are doing great work and continuing to achieve.”

According to the STAR results, California students remain on a steady trajectory of improved school achievement. In fact, 42 percent of students statewide scored at the proficient or advanced level in English-language arts, with 40 percent scoring at the proficient or advanced level in mathematics. Both of these scores reflect a 2 percent increase from 2005.

“I am extremely pleased that these results show that California’s public school students continue to make steady gains in nearly every subject and grade level,” says State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell. “Since our state adopted rigorous standards for what every student should learn in every grade, and began systematically integrating those standards into classroom materials and instruction, student achievement has continued to improve.”

Buchanan agrees, especially regarding the strides achieved in mathematics by local schools. “This was a good year district-wide in mathematics,” he said, “which we needed to happen. Grade nine was one of our super-star grades and Pioneer was the leader in that.”

District-wide, of the students at 40 regular schools who scored proficient or advanced on the 2006 STAR test, 29 percent showed gains in English language arts, 36 percent showed gains in mathematics and 28 percent showed growth in both subjects.

O’Connell applauds the performance of the state’s teachers and students on this year’s STAR tests. “Thanks to the hard work of our students, teachers and administrators, more students than ever before are being prepared with skills and knowledge essential to their future success in our competitive global economy,” he said. “This improvement deserves recognition and celebration.”

Navigating the California Standards Test results Mean Scale Scores by Grade and Subject After locating your student’s school, follow a particular subject, such as Math 4, across the chart. Following the subject is a listing of the mean score for that grade in 2005, followed by the 2006 score, the numerical difference between these scores and the percentile change between them. A notation of “EOC,” such as “Algebra 1 EOC,” refers to a combined score reflecting every student in that school who took that exam.