September 11, 2006

School assessment data shows growth, challenge areas

STAR, API standouts include Gunderson, Frost

By Candy Richter
Editor

With the 2006-07 academic year in full swing, districts and schools across the state are busy analyzing assessment results from both the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) tests and the Academic Performance Index (API) data. Released Aug. 15 and 31 respectively, these measurements give administrators at the both the school site and district level a break-down of the students’ proficiency in the state’s education standards as delineated by a variety of different sub-groups.

Posting a 20-point gain in their API, Gunderson High School was in the top 10 point earners for the Santa Clara County.

“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,” said State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Jack O’Connell.

According to O’Connell, while this year brought overall gains, the state still faces the challenge of closing the achievement gap between the traditionally high-performing sub-groups and the lower performing groups.

“I remain deeply concerned that the achievement gap continues to be unacceptably wide,” O’Connell said. “The academic achievement of our Latino, African American and socio-economically disadvantaged students lags far behind the rest of their peers. We are working to address this problem by providing struggling schools extra resources and additional interventions, and with better training for teachers. But clearly, we must work harder, faster and with more focus to narrow this gap and to permanently close it. This will be my top priority as I start my second term as superintendent.”

The ultimate goal in the STAR testing is for all students in each subgroup to score at the “proficient” level or above for each of the standards-based subjects tested. For the API, the goal is to achieve a score of 800. Each year, the state sets growth goals for each school site that is 5 percent of the difference between that school’s API base score and 800. This same growth formula has also been put in place for the subgroup population, setting a minimum growth of 5 points for each numerically significant grouping. The API is a measurement used by the state, the AYP, or Adequate Yearly Progress is a federal –level measurement used in conjunction with the government’s No Child Left Behind program.

OGSD pleased with results
With a demographic profile that closely mirrors that of the state, Oak Grove School District has faced many of the challenges echoed by O’Connell. Through hard work, diligent staff and administrators, and effective instructional strategies, OGSD has seen success. For example, more than 80 percent of the district’s three intermediate schools’ geometry students scored at or above the proficient level. And Frost Elementary School, the top API point earners in OGSD, posted a 41 API point gain.

“The hard work that the district and staff has put in continues to pay off,” said OGSD superintendent, Manny Barbara. He noted that since the state’s first recorded of a district-level API, OGSD has increased from 745 to 778 in 2006.

Although Barbara acknowledged that like the state, OGSD has seen an achievement gap, test data has indicated improvement across the board. “All of our [sub] groups showed improvement in all the API categories and we feel we are making good progress in closing that gap,” he said.

In addition to data analysis, and a rigorous cycle of inquiry process, OGSD offers additional support to identified students through “safety nets” that include extended day, week or year study support options. Special Curriculum Improvement Teams also help with data analysis and review at the school site level.

“This type of work is just continuing to move ahead,” said Barbara. “There is no magic bullet that fixes things overnight. We continue implementing and refining and move forward.”

At Frost Elementary, moving forward came in the form of a 41-point gain on the API. According to Principal Mary Noel, it was a team effort that involved district support, a dedicated faculty, parental buy-in and, of course, the Frost student body.

“First of all, we operated using a standards-based approach,” said Noel. “Our teachers spend a great deal of time collaborating to prepare for instruction, and in that work they focus on ongoing data and curriculum alignment.”

Being an every child reader/writer school, Frost utilizes both Houghton Mifflin and other front-loading strategies to address the needs of all students, including, according to Noel, the English learners that may require additional support.

Professional development is also a top priority, as is placing a high value on attendance. Noel partners with the Frost parents on communicating good attendance to the students. Frequent assessments have also played a key role in identifying the individual needs of students.

“Normally we assess three times per year,” said Noel. “But we have found that some of our students need assessments five or six times per year.”

These additional assessments give instructors early insight into the academic progress of potentially at-risk students allowing for early intervention and support.

San Jose’s Gunderson High a top gainer
San Jose’s Gunderson High School was named as one of the top 10-point gainers in the Santa Clara County, posting a total increase of 20 API points, from 631 to 651. Although Gunderson had shown slight gains over the past few years, this is the first time the school posted such a large increase.

“[Principal Cary Catching] is so focused on standards, analyzing data and benchmark work. Over the past year, Gunderson has been a lot more concentrated [on improvement efforts] than in prior years,” said Dr. Aaron Buchanan, San Jose Unified’s director of Testing and Educational Accountability.

At Gunderson, Catching took a matter-of-fact approach to improving her students’ results. She prioritized and zeroed in on the things that she knew would make the greatest impact.

“We took control of the things we have control over – things that go on in the classroom,” said Catching. “We developed pacing calendars for language arts and math teachers so that they knew which standards they needed to teach and which standards the kids needed to understand.”

From there, Catching put new curriculum in place, implemented benchmark assessments every six weeks and used that to determine which concepts needed revisiting or were solidly understood.

“I don’t want to say it was easy,” said Catching. “But we certainly had a little bit more control over whether the kids were going to come to school on those four days in the proper frame of mind to take the test.”

Augmenting the academic fundamentals were test-taking strategies that Catching implemented in October of 2005. Each Thursday students would see either a 5 – 10 minute movie or a PowerPoint presentation that would give tips on how to successful navigate any tests from STAR to the SAT’s.

Rounding out the changes were student assemblies that gave the “why” behind the effort students were asked to put out, and strategically scheduling the tests so that the most heavily weighted of the tests – math and language arts – were given first, while the students were fresh..

“We put some incentives in place,” said Catching. “We told the kids that if we raised our scores that the first dance of the year would be free – so now our ‘Welcome Back’ dance is free.”

“As a high school Gunderson has ranked eighth in the county, said Karen Fuqua, SJUSD’s Public Information Officer. “Both the students and the faculty are extremely focused. It is a really energized staff. I commend the students and staff at Gunderson.”

Of the several factors that contribute to a school’s API score, the most significant is the California Standards Test (CST), which is given to grades two through eleven during the STAR test. The California Achievement Test, 6th Edition (CAT/6) makes up another component of the STAR exam and is a norm-referenced, multiple-choice test administered to grades three and seven only. The CAT/6 is used to measure general academic knowledge and is used for national comparison data. Rounding out the API score are the California High School Exit Exam CAHSEE and CAPA, a standards-based test for students with significant cognitive disabilities.

For more information on the STAR, API, or any of California’s education assessment data visit www.cde.ca.gov and follow the prompts.