Achievement gap among Latino students a problem at SBHS
Administrators at San Benito High School are trying to close the
achievement gap that leaves many Hispanic students behind.
Achievement gap among Latino students a problem at SBHS
Administrators at San Benito High School are trying to close the achievement gap that leaves many Hispanic students behind.
“Mostly with our failing students, we are improving in all categories,” said Krystal Lomanto, the principal.
But Latino students tend to be suspended at a higher rate than other students, said Antonio Vela, an assistant principal at San Benito High School.
“They continue to be the most represented in the suspension category,” Vela said.
Before commenting on the reasons for the achievement gap, Lomanto said she needs more time to examine the data and hear from students, she said.
“I’m not ready to comment until I’ve been here a year,” Lomanto said.
There are a variety of factors that affect the success of Latino students in school, including income level, parental support, community support and resources available at school, said Rosie Arenas, a professor of literacy and early education at Fresno State University and a board member for CABE.
CABE is the California Association for Bilingual Education, a nonprofit dedicated to improving education for bilingual students.
“There are areas that we are concerned about, but we really have no control over,” Arenas said. “In actuality, teachers need to focus on their areas of influence.”
Teachers are not prepared to meet the needs of English language learners, she said.
In order to graduate with a high school diploma, students in California must pass a variety of standardized tests, including the Academic Performance Index (API) and the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE).
The tests are written at a higher level of English Language Proficiency than English language learners are achieving in high school, Arenas said.
“Students get up to the intermediate proficiency level in English, and they stay there,” she said. “They have to bring English learners to understand that academic language, which is what is required on the standardized test.”
The California English Language Development Test (CELDT) is a standardized measurement of English proficiency for English language learners.
The test is scored as beginning, early intermediate, intermediate, early advanced and advanced, according to a Web site from the California Department of Education.
A proficiency level of early advanced and advanced encompasses the academic language that students must understand in order to pass the CAHSEE test, Arenas said.
At San Benito High School, 265 students took the CELDT in 2006-2007. Of those, 21 percent scored early advanced or advanced, based on data from the California Department of Education.
Test scores from local schools of a similar size and ethnic makeup were higher.
At Gilroy High School, 430 students took the CELDT in 2006-2007. Thirty four percent scored early advanced or intermediate, based on data from the California Department of Education.
At Los Banos High School, 576 students took the CELDT. Of those, 45 percent scored early advanced or advanced.
In 2007, Latino students at Los Banos students scored highest on the API and CAHSEE, based on data from the California Department of Education.
Test scores among Latino students at San Benito High School and Gilroy High School were similar.
To help youth at the high school, Lomanto is planning the first community outreach gathering, involving local agencies, parents and staff, she said.
Discussions will center on areas of concern for youth and ways to support them, Lomanto said.
Among students who received failing grades, there is a higher representation of Latino Students, reported Cindy Cordova, director of educational services at the high school, during a board of trustees meeting last summer.
However, students with F grades are declining overall, Lomanto said.
“The positive is we are seeing this decline,” she said. “But we are still not where we would like to be.”
So far this year, 17 percent of Latino students received an F grade, Lomanto said, compared to 7 percent of Caucasian students. In the 2006-2007 school year, 20 percent of Latino students received an F grade. Eight percent of Caucasian students received an F grade.
Closing the achievement gap will not happen overnight, Lomanto said. There are numerous programs in place at the high school to help struggling students. The school offers afterschool tutoring and support courses for the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE), Lomanto said
Between 2006 and 2007, Academic Performance Index (API) scores among Latino students at San Benito High School rose from 611 to 647, according to data from the California Department of Education.
New in 2006 were a series of benchmark exams, Lomanto said. Benchmark exams are 25-30 questions long, she said.
“Six weeks in, students will be tested on what they’ve learned so far,” Lomanto said. “It’s an immediate feedback to our [teachers] of how many students are mastering what they are learning.”
The point is to teach and re-teach, Lomanto said. The exam shows teachers where students need help.
Community involvement is an important component of a student’s success, Lomanto said.
“All the research shows that when you have parent involvement, community involvement,” Lomanto said, “you will have better success with your students.”
To foster communication between parents and educators, Lomanto held a series of parents’ nights, she said.
“This is the first year that we actually did a concerted effort for parent night,” Lomanto said. “This year was the first year we did a 12th grade night, then an 11th grade night, then a 10th grade night, then a 9th grade night.”
The parents’ nights were well attended, Lomanto said. For Spanish speakers, everything was translated, she said.
The achievement gap is a statewide problem, Lomanto said.
“The achievement gap that you see in San Benito High School is not out of the ordinary across all schools in the state,” Lomanto said.
API scores are one measure of the achievement gap between Latino and Caucasian students. The exam is scored between 200 and 1,000, according to a Web site from the California Department of Education
In 2007, Latino students at San Benito High School scored 647 on the API test, based on data from the California Department of Education. Caucasian students scored 766.
In the same year, Latino students at Gilroy High Schools and Los Banos High School reported comparable problems.
Latino students at Gilroy High School scored 648, based on data from the California Department of Education. Caucasian students scored 789.
Latino students at Los Banos High School did slightly better on the test, but scores from Caucasian students were lower.
Latino students at Los Banos scored 679 on the API, based on data from the California Department of Education. Caucasian students scored 767.
The California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) is another measure of student success.
In 2006-2007, Caucasian students in all three schools passed the CAHSEE at higher rates than Latino students.
At San Benito High School, 21 percent more Caucasian students passed the math exit exam than Latino students.
On the English exit exam, 20 percent more Caucasian students passed than Latino students.
Figures were similar in Gilroy and Los Banos.
