September 8, 2005

STAR Program results show significant
gains for Almaden schools

Valley students continue making steady progress

By Sheila Sanchez
Staff Writer

Results of the 2005 Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program released recently by state education officials reveal Almaden’s public school students are making widespread gains in every subject and grade level tested.

A majority of students attending Graystone, Los Alamitos, Simonds and Williams elementary schools, in grades second through fifth, scored at the proficient or advanced levels in English language arts and mathematics. In science, more than half of fifth graders at those schools scored at the proficient or advanced levels.

Simonds Elementary School principal Linda Kakes said, “We are very pleased with the results. It’s another year of showing improvements. Aca-demics are our core business and it’s our major concern. We believe in reaching these standards through the fine arts and that’s why we have vested so heavily in music, technology and visual arts.”

Pioneer High School Principal Sandy Engel, former principal at Castillero Middle School, was also happy with the test results. “We have complimented everyone for helping our students perform well on these tests,” she said. “At Pioneer, everyone has pulled together to help all students achieve.”

Engel was also ecstatic that for the first time, Castillero finally achieved the 800-point mark on the Academic Performance Index. “That’s the magic number,” she said. “It’s harder to do this at the high school level, but we are working really hard to achieve this in the future.”

Pioneer made gains on the API, but it’s still below the 800 mark. It ranks, however, fourth highest in Santa Clara County for change in growth. Engel said the school is focusing on math instruction and helping students who struggle.

At Guadalupe Elementary School, in the Union Elementary School District, a majority of students also scored at the same levels in English-language arts and mathematics, with 63 percent of fifth graders scoring at advanced and proficient levels in science.

In releasing the scores last month, California Department of Education Superintendent Jack O’Connell said, “With five years of data, we can now see a clear trend of student gains in nearly every subject and every grade. This impressive gain in student achievement can be traced back to the implementation of our comprehensive standards-based educational system. Since California adopted rigorous standards of what every child should know and be able to do and systematically integrated those standards into the classroom, our schools have made steady improvement.”

Beginning in 1997, California began putting into place a comprehensive standards-based educational system for all students. The reforms include world-class standards, tests aligned to those standards and a system of accountability to ensure that students are learning to those high expectations. Schools are now using standards-aligned textbooks, professional development is provided for teachers and principals to assist them in teaching the standards, and there are interventions at the lowest performing schools.

More than 4.8 million students in the state enrolled in second through 11th grades last spring took the test.

Middle schools
At Castillero Middle School, where 1,144 students were tested, nearly 60 percent scored at advanced and proficient levels in English-language arts and nearly 50 percent scored at advanced and proficient levels in mathematics.

Of 239 students tested in general mathematics at the sixth and seventh grade standards, 68 percent scored at advanced and proficient levels. Of 110 students tested in algebra I, 53 percent scored at advanced and proficient levels. Of 48 eighth graders tested in geometry, 96 percent scored at advanced and proficient levels and of 399 students tested in history/social science, 48 percent scored at advanced and proficient levels.

At Bret Harte Middle School, where 1,245 students were tested, more than 70 percent scored at advanced and proficient levels in English-language arts. In mathematics, more than 75 percent of sixth and seventh graders tested at advanced and proficient levels and of 242 eighth graders tested in general mathematics, 68 percent scored at advanced and proficient levels. Of 90 eighth graders tested in algebra I, 97 percent scored at advanced and proficient levels. Of 90 eighth graders tested in geometry and history/social science 100 percent tested at the same levels. Of 424 eighth graders tested in history/social science, 70 percent tested at advanced and proficient levels.

High schools
The high school percentages or scores come from the California High School Exit Exam and not the STAR.

At Leland High School, 1,326 students were tested. More than 70 percent scored at the advanced and proficient levels in English-language arts. Of 241 ninth graders tested in algebra I, 23 percent scored at advanced and proficient levels. Most 25 tenth graders also tested in the same subject struggled scoring at basic, below basic and far below basic levels.

Of 417 students tested in algebra II, 56 percent scored at the advanced and proficient levels.

Of 306 tenth and 11th graders tested in summative high school mathematics, 86 percent scored at the advanced, proficient and basic levels.

Of 452 tenth graders tested in world history, 63 percent scored at the advanced and proficient levels and of the 403 juniors tested in U.S. history, 76 percent scored at the advanced and proficient levels.

In biology/life sciences, of 644 students tested in grades ninth through 11th, 54 percent scored at the advanced and proficient levels and of 427 students tested in chemistry, 39 percent scored at the same levels.

Of the 100 juniors tested in physics, 63 percent scored at the advanced and proficient levels and of 141 ninth and tenth graders tested in integrated/coordinated science, four percent scored at the proficient level.

At Pioneer High School, 1,078 students were tested. More than 50 percent scored at the advanced and proficient level in English language arts.

Of 268 ninth graders tested in algebra I, 18 percent scored at the advanced and proficient levels. Similarly, of 47 tenth graders tested in the same subject, 2 percent scored at the advanced and proficient level. The rest scored at basic, below basic or far below basic levels. The number of these students is rather small when compared to the general school population tested, but it does reveal where Pioneer’s focus will be.

A majority of students tested in geometry, algebra II and summative high school math, scored at basic, below basic and far below basic levels.

Of 369 tenth graders tested in world history, 43 percent scored at the advanced and proficient levels. Of 278 11th graders tested in U.S. history, 50 percent scored at the advanced and proficient levels.

Of 512 students in grades ninth through 11th tested in biology/life sciences, 54 percent scored at the advanced and proficient levels; and of 200 tenth and 11th graders tested in chemistry, 38 percent scored at the advanced and proficient levels.

Of the 43 juniors tested in physics, 74 percent scored at the advanced and proficient levels.

“South end schools are doing tremendously well… We are pleased but we know that we have to do a lot better,” said San Jose Unified School District spokeswoman Karen Fuqua. “The CST and the California standards are not aligned. What we’re actually teaching our kids is not on the test, so there’s a discrepancy there. We’re looking at this internally.”

Pioneer and Leland high school students, like their peers at other district high schools, are required to take college preparatory mathematics and science courses like algebra, geometry, chemistry and physics.

Students attain one of five levels of performance on the CSTs for each subject tested: advanced, proficient, basic, below basic, and far below basic. The State Board of Education has established the proficient level as the desired achievement goal for all students. While this goal is consistent with school growth targets for state accountability and the new federal No Child Left Behind requirements, California’s proficiency level is higher than almost all other states.

All students in grades two through eleven in California public schools participate in the STAR Program, which also includes national norm-referenced tests, the California Achievement Tests, Sixth Edition Survey (CAT/6 Survey), that measure general knowledge and skills in reading, language, spelling, and mathematics.

Beginning in 2005, the CAT/6 Survey was given to students in grades three and seven only. Results showed across-the-board increases over 2004 in all subject areas tested. CAT/6 Survey scores are used to make comparisons with scores of national samples of students tested in grades three and seven.

In commenting on the STAR Program data, Fuqua praised all Almaden schools for also making impressive gains in the Academic Performance Index growth measurements. Pioneer, for example, increased its API scores by 43 points, from 734 to 777 points; Leland increased its API scores by 33 points, from 829 to 862; Castillero increased its scores by 14 points, from 786 to 800; Bret Harte went up by 16 points, from 875 to 891. Williams Elementary increased its scored by 22 points, from 934 to 956; Graystone Elementary climbed by 17 points, from 904 to 921 points; Simonds jumped by one point, from 907 to 908 points, and Los Alamitos gained in 22 points, from 881to 903 points.

“When you’re that high, to continue to grow is extremely difficult,” Fuqua said. “Our teachers and administrators continue to work very hard using benchmark testing and pacing calendars to deliver a rich educational experience for all students.”

For more information on the STAR Program please visit www.cde.ca.gov.