STAR Test Results For Sequoia Union High School District Released

Results of STAR tests from schools across California were released Friday morning by the California Department of Education (CA DOE).

State Superintendent Tom Torlakson sent out a glowing statement, touting how statewide scores in math and English-language arts have risen for the ninth year in a row.

“In less than a decade, California has gone from having only one student in three score proficient, to better than one student in two,” Torlakson said. “That’s nearly 900,000 more students reaching proficiency now than in 2003 - a remarkable achievement that represents real, sustained improvements in learning.”

Torlakson said the achievement is even more noteworthy considering how badly California schools are struggling financially these days.

“Even more remarkable is the fact that our students continue to make gains even as our schools and the teachers, administrators and school employees working in them are getting by with so much less,” Torlakson said. “As pleased as I am by the great progress many students are making, the deep school budget cuts of recent years make it ever less likely these gains will continue.”

“Preventing further cuts and beginning to restore what’s been lost are essential to helping every student learn and prepare for the future.”

Results for 2012 rose three percentage points over last year in English-language arts, and one percentage point in mathematics, he said. Since 2003, the scores have risen 22 points in English-language arts - or from 35 to 57 percent scoring “proficient” or “advanced" - and 16 percentage points in math, or from 35 to 51 percent.

However, Torlakson said, while the STAR results show an increase in proficiency levels among all subgroups, a “persistent achievement gap” exists for African American, Latino, English-learner, and low-income students, compared to their peers.

“Like every teacher, parent, and principal, despite the decade of progress we’ve seen, I won’t be completely satisfied until every child has the opportunity to achieve his or her full potential,” Torlakson said.

Patch was sent information about the results, so we’re bringing it to you. Below are districtwide results for the Sequoia Union High School District, which manages Menlo-Atherton High School, Carlmont High School, Redwood High School, Woodside High Sequoia High School, along with some charter schools and adult education instutions. 

But first, a little background.

“STAR” stands for Standardized Testing and Reporting.

The STAR tests consists of the following four components:

• “CST,” or California Standards Test
• “CMA,” or California Modified Assessment
• “CAPA,” or California Alternate Performance Assessment
• “STS,” or Standards-based Tests in Spanish

According to the CA DOE, the CSTs for English–language arts (ELA), mathematics, science, and history–social science are administered only to students in California public schools. Except for a writing component that is administered as part of the fourth-grade and seventh-grade ELA tests, all questions are multiple-choice.

The CA DOE’s website explains, “These tests were developed specifically to assess students' knowledge of the California content standards. The State Board of Education adopted these standards, which specify what all children in California are expected to know and be able to do in each grade or course. “

CST scores are used for calculating each school's Academic Performance Index (API) and Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) scores.

Information about the API and AYP is posted on the CA DOE’s Accountability Progress Reporting website at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/ar/index.asp.

THE RESULTS:

Sequoia Union High School District reported a t­­­­otal enrollment of 6,120 on the first day of testing; 6,120 of those students took the examinations.  In this post, we will detail how students scored in each grade level and each category. 

Freshmen: 

District wide, 1,906 ninth graders took the English-Language arts test. Of the 1,893 who completed the test, 45 % scored in the “advanced” category.  Twenty-five percent were given a “proficient” score.  Eighteen percent were given a “basic” score.  Eight percent were “below basic”, while four percent were “far below basic.”

Two hundred and ninety five students took the General Mathematics test  Of the 242 students who completed the test, zero students received an “advanced" score.  Eight percent were “proficient.”  Twenty-one percent were “basic,” while 40 % scored “below basic.”  Thirty-one % scored “far below basic.”

Seven hundred and eighty students took the Algebra 1 test;  772 students were scored.  Three percent scored “advanced,” 30 % were classified “proficient.” Twenty-nine % of them earned a score of “basic”, while 28 % were categorized “below basic,” and nine percent were “far below basic.”

Six hundred and ninety-two students completed the Geometry test, resulting in 36 % of them earning an “advanced” score.  Forty % were classified “proficient,” while 18% earned a “basic” score.  Six % of these students scored “below basic,” while one % of the students scored “far below basic.”


Two hundred and nine students completed the Algebra II test.  Sixty-four % of those students received an “advanced” score; twenty-six % earned a “proficient” score; seven % scored “basic,” with two % scoring “below basic” and one % scoring “far below basic.”


Thirty students were given the World History test, although only 19 of them received scores.  None received an “advanced” score; eleven % received a “proficient” score;  zero received a “basic score; five percent scored “below basic.”  Eighty-four percent of the students tested in this category scored “far below basic.”


1,030 students began the Biology test,with 1,028 of them earning a score.  Fifty-eight % of the students who took this test earned an “advanced” score;  twenty-eight % scored in the “proficient” category; twelve % scored “basic”;  one % scored “below basic,” while one % scored “far below basic” in this section of the exam.


Six hundred and sixty-one students took the Earth Science test, with 657 of them earning scores for the endeavor.  Two % were given a score of “advanced,” while 18 % fell into the “proficient” category; Forty-five % earned a “basic” score; eighteen % earned a “below basic” score; seventeen scored “far below basic.”


Eighty-seven students took the Physics exam. All of those students completed it and earned scores.  Thirteen % of them scored “advanced,” while thirty-seven earned “proficient” scores.  Thirty-nine percent of these students were categorized as individuals with “basic” knowledge of the subject, while nine percent scored “below basic,” with two percent in the “far below basic” category.


The Integrated/ Coordinated Science examination was taken and completed by 102 students.  None of them earned “advanced” scores.  Nineteen % earned a “proficient” score; forty-three % were given a “basic” score; fifteen % were given a “below basic” score; twenty-four % were given a “far below basic” score.

We know that not everyone processes data in the same way.  

To see results from the 10th and 11th graders, click on the photos attached to these words.  There, you'll find a comprehensive set of data that details how each class scored, including the information we just shared with you in the words above. 


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