Seated in the Calaveras library, 9-year-old Luis Juarez beamed
down at the certificate he had just received while his mom, at his
side, embraced him repeatedly.
Hollister – Seated in the Calaveras library, 9-year-old Luis Juarez beamed down at the certificate he had just received while his mom, at his side, embraced him repeatedly.
Designated as a low-performer on the state’s standardized tests, Luis worked all year to improve his score on the language arts section of the test. This month, he received the good news: He had increased his score by 37 points.
Calaveras School acknowledged Luis Wednesday along with 15 other fourth-graders who had performed at low levels on the English section of the state tests, but all of whom had managed to improve their scores.
“I felt excited because I was low and I got more points than I used to,” Luis said, a proud grin constant on his face.
Luis’ mother, Erika Juarez, shared in the pride. As she looked at her son and the certificate clasped in his fingers, she started crying.
She explained that, because her English wasn’t that good, she did not have the words to express her feelings. She said she was “very happy.”
Luis translated for her.
“She wants the best for me,” Luis said.
The students recognized by Calaveras School on Wednesday are not the ones who typically receive awards for their test scores, said Cheryl Rios, who instructed the students in English.
Students’ test scores are ranked into the following levels: advanced, proficient, basic, below basic and far below basic. These 15 students all tested at lower levels, but each improved from the previous year, Rios said.
Five of the students even increased their rank by two levels, and 10-year-old Evelyn Juarez’s hard work resulted in a 71-point improvement on her score.
“I thought I was going to get low points again,” Evelyn said. “But when (Rios) said I’d improved so much, I felt excited.”
Other students said they were “happy,” “proud,” “felt smart” and “felt wonderful” upon learning about their improvement.
The kids and their families weren’t the only ones eager to see the results.
“I waited all summer long, dying to see how these kids did,” Rios said.
Rios, who taught the students in small groups during the 2006-07 school year, said she was overjoyed by their success.
Every day for one hour at Calaveras, students are moved from their normal classes and divided into English classes by skill and comprehension level. This program, Assuring Student Success on Every Team, employs not just teachers, but all staff members at the school so the kids can get small-group instruction with students at a similar level.
The students Rios taught had struggled with English throughout their academic lives, but this program allowed her to work with them on an individual level, she said.
“A lot of them are English learners and some have learning disabilities,” Rios said. “When you have kids who come from a different country, you can’t expect them to meet the standards right away. They never acknowledge the growth.”
Luis said he hoped to keep improving on the test. He said he was “very proud” of the gains he made, not only in his test-taking, but also on his ability to speak and understand English.
“Now I know how to speak English. I can understand people and talk it, too,” he said. “Now I can understand the questions on the test.”
