WATSONVILLE — Nearly 50 percent of California’s 3.2 million students met or exceeded English Language Arts standards on state tests from the past academic year, numbers nearly identical to those from 2016 results.
In Pajaro Valley Unified School District, about 30 percent met or exceeded English Language Arts standards, a 3 percent dip from 2016 results.
Statewide, just over 37 percent of students met or exceeded standards in mathematics, a drop of 12 percent from the previous test results.
That’s compared to 21 percent of PVUSD students who reached that benchmark, also a 12 percent drop.
The results released Wednesday from the California Department of Education are from the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP), which is the state’s latest attempt to measure school success.
Also known as Smarter Balanced Assessments, the tests gauge mathematics and English language literacy.
They are given in grades three through eight, and 11. School districts have had access to their own results since May.
Parents received individual student scores over the summer.
The assessments consist of an “adaptive” test on the computer that bases subsequent questions on students’ previous answers. Correct answers, for example, get a more difficult follow-up question.
This is thought to give a more accurate picture of progress than paper-and-pencil, multiple-choice tests.
The test also includes a performance task, which tasks students to apply their knowledge and skills to problems in a “real-world” setting.
This is the third year of the computer-based tests.
This relatively recent educational overhaul includes the recent adaption of Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards.
PVUSD Superintendent Michelle Rodriguez said that 82 percent of the district’s schools showed improvement in their math scores in at least one grade level, while about half the middle schools did the same.
Rodriguez said she expects that a recently adapted math curriculum – along with a new initiative created to bolster English learning – will show in increased test scores in the coming years.
Nearly 60 percent of schools showed improvement in students’ scores as they moved up in grade levels, Rodriguez said.
“I’m very proud of the staff,” she said. “We feel we will see a significant increase in the next year, and we will continue to do the good work and assure that our scores improve over time.”
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson said he was pleased with the gains, but said there is more work to do.
“We need to work diligently to narrow achievement gaps and make sure all students continue to make progress,” he said. “It’s important to remember that these tests are far more rigorous and realistic than the previous paper and pencil tests. We are asking more of our students, but for a good reason — so they are better prepared for the world of college and careers.”
School officials tout such assessments as tools which, when applied correctly, can correct deficiencies and help narrow the so-called “achievement gap,” or the differences in performance between certain groups of students. Teachers, meanwhile, say the necessary preparation – not to mention the several days of testing – takes away from vital instruction time.
California did away with its Academic Performance Index test in 2013. That test was thought to be too limiting, since it was based on a single test and rated schools based on a single number.
CDE officials in December will roll out the California School Dashboard, which measures schools and districts based on several areas, such as suspension and graduation rates. It also features the CAASPP scores for students in grades three through eight.
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For information and test scores for specific schools, visit caaspp.cde.ca.gov.
