Despite more students and fewer teachers, schools throughout the
county kicked off this week coinciding with the release of last
year’s California Standardized Testing and Reporting results. And
the results were mostly positive, with slight improvements.
Despite more students and fewer teachers, schools throughout the county kicked off this week coinciding with the release of last year’s California Standardized Testing and Reporting results. And the results were mostly positive, with slight improvements.
The California STAR test is an assessment exam that is taken every spring. The test is measured on a five-point scale including advanced, proficient, basic, below basic and far below basic. The state wants to have 100 percent of all students test proficient or better by 2014.
Overall, school districts in San Benito County saw improvements in basic English and mathematics classes despite still being below the state’s averages.
Overall, English scores improved slightly to 48.6 percent proficient or better. Last year’s scores averaged 47.1 percent proficient or better.
Ninth-graders showed the highest improvement, scoring 59 percent proficient or better compared with last year’s 43 percent.
Third-graders improved eight points to 68 percent in math – the highest percentage among math. High school students struggled with general math, as only 35 percent of eighth-graders were considered proficient or better and only 6 percent of ninth-graders scored higher than proficient.
“We continue to go in the right direction and what we are doing is paying off,” said Stan Rose, superintendent of the San Benito High School District.
Overall with mathematics, the county improved by 2 percentage points to 52.6 among those who scored proficient or better. Younger students scored better in algebra as 74 percent of seventh graders scored proficient or better and no eleventh graders scored proficient or better.
Eleventh-graders struggled as 85 percent scored below basic or worse.
And it’s in math where the county hopes to improve going into next year.
Hollister School District Superintendent Gary McIntire expects improvements over the next year because of a new San Benito County Math Initiative that will focus on training teachers.
“We should see improving results in the spring and every year after,” McIntire said.
The three-year initiative, which started this past summer on Aug. 2, will help guide teachers in the county to teach math better, said Kim Garcia of the Hollister School District. More than 130 teachers in the county have committed to the training presented by California State University, East Bay Professor Phil Gonsalves.
“It’s been fantastic. I’ve received more comments and calls from teachers about this program than any other program we’ve done,” Garcia said.
Look for the full story in the Free Lance on Tuesday. For the full list of results, go here.
