Originally published in the August 28, 2009 edition of The Mountain Enterprise
Click to view PDF of charts shown below
By Mountain Enterprise Staff
Just before the new school year began here on the mountain, a preliminary ‘report card’ was issued for California’s public schools, including those within the El Tejon Unified School District (ETUSD).
The 2009 Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) results were released on August 18 by California Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell.
The charts on this page show the results of the tests and how well El Tejon Unified School District students scored compared to students in Kern County and the state as a whole.
The state office of public instruction statisticians continue to calculate results of these tests for some time. Therefore, they say that the final figures will be released in December 2009.
Meanwhile, these charts show parents how well their children are performing compared to others in the same grades statewide.
Under the STAR program, California students attain one of five levels of performance on the California Standards Tests (CSTs): Advanced, Proficient, Basic, Below Basic and Far Below Basic. The State Board of Education has established the “Proficient” level as the desired minimum target for all students. “The Proficient level represents a solid performance,” a press release from Superintendent O’Connell’s office explains.
The ‘Proficient’ goal is also consistent with requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind program, but “the State of California would like to see all students score at either the Proficient or Advanced level,” the release states.
Approximately 4.73 million California students from grades 2 to 11 participated in the 2009 STAR program.
Elementary Grades English
In English–Language Arts, ETUSD students in grades 2-3 (Frazier Park School and Pine Mountain Learning Center) did as well or better than the Kern County average, but Frazier Park School scored lower than the state average; PMLC scored above state averages for second grade.
Grades 4-8 English–Language Arts performance by El Tejon School and PMLC did better than Kern County’s average. El Tejon and PMLC both exceeded the state average at the Proficient level, but El Tejon had less at the Advanced level, while PMLC exceeded the percentage of students testing at the Advanced level.
Elementary Grades Math
In Math and General Math, ETUSD students in grades 2-3 at both Frazier Park School and PMLC exceeded the Kern County percentages for Proficient and Advanced. Frazier Park School was below the state percentages for Proficient and Advanced, while PMLC exceeded state percentages in both divisions.
Grades 4-8 Math performance by El Tejon School and PMLC exceeded Kern County’s average. El Tejon School was slightly below the state measures for Proficient, but equalled the state measures for Advanced (22 percent) and exceeded the state in the Basic category. PMLC exceeded the state measures in Advanced and Proficient.
High School English
High School tests measure only grades 9-11 for the purpose of the STAR reports. Frazier Mountain High School students exceeded both state and county scores as Proficient. They also exceeded state and county averages in the Basic level skills. They exceeded the county in the Advanced category, but not the state.
High School General Math
Frazier Mountain High School edged ahead of county Proficient scores in Math, but lagged only slightly behind state scores at Proficient, Advanced and Basic. However, nearly half of the 9-11 graders tested Below Basic compared to roughly onethird of state and county students testing at the same level.
High School Algebra I
In Advanced and Proficient, Frazier Mountain High School fell just below state and county standards for Algebra I but pulled ahead at the Basic performance level. Over half, however, fared more poorly than the state or county with 54 percent of students testing at Below Basic.
High School Algebra II
Frazier Mountain High School tied with county students and exceeded state performances at the Basic level but was below state and county averages for Proficient and Advanced.
To see the STAR results for yourself, go to http://star.cde.ca.gov.
This is part of the April 19, 2024 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.
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