Eighth-grade jump in math most dramatic in a broad move
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By Lori Stuenkel
GILROY – Gilroy Unified School District’s focus on gearing classroom instruction toward state standards appears to be paying off, with students continuing a four-year trend by raising standardized test scores nearly across the board.
Based on the results of the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) program released Friday, Gilroy students in grades two through 11 improved test scores in most areas in 2003, but the district must improve further to meet the Santa Clara County average.
“There seems to be a steady trend of improvement throughout the district,” Superintendent Edwin Diaz said. “It’s an acknowledgment of the hard work of our site staff, (including) teachers and administrators.”
The district as a whole raised scores on the California Standards Test (CST) by 3 percent on the English-language arts section and 8 percent on the math portion. The CST is based on state curriculum standards for which all schools and districts are held accountable. GUSD uses the test to determine whether students are reaching the state-approved levels and to tailor instruction to students’ needs.
Eighth-grade math students made the most significant gains of any group, improving their scores from 2002 to 2003 at both of the possible levels: general mathematics and algebra I. The percentage of eighth-graders achieving levels of “proficient” or “advanced” in general mathematics jumped 17 percent. The percentage who reached that level on the algebra I exam increased by 53 percent. The CST places students in five levels, ranging from “far below basic” to “advanced.”
The district says the main reason for the jump was the larger number of eighth-graders taking general mathematics due to an extended algebra I program. CST math tests are general, grade-specific tests until students reach the algebra I level. This year, there were eight different math course-specific tests, from algebra I through the high school summary test.
“Math achievement and improved literacy skills go hand in hand,” Diaz said, “so when you’re better at reading, then you’re better at math.”
While GIlroy schools continue to improve, the district still lags behind schools countywide. In the reading, language and math sections of the California Achievement Test, sixth edition (CAT/6), GUSD had at least 10 percent fewer students – sometimes as many as 20 percent – scoring at or above grade level. Gilroy had between 2 and 3 percent of students scoring lower than the California average, although in some areas it was 6 percent lower.
“(The growth) is not as much as we want it to be,” said Esther Corral-Carlson, director of student assessment and program evaluation. “But every school is seeing improvement somewhere.”
Gilroy schools are beginning to close the gap between the district and the county, as the district looks for additional ways to improve scores.
“We’re looking for accelerated strategies to bring kids up to the proficient level,” Corral-Carlson said. “We have books listing exactly what (teachers) need to teach for every grade. The focus is all on the CST, it is what holds us accountable.”
If fourth-grade students at a particular school are underachieving in the CST math section, for example, their teachers can refer back to the California standards to determine exactly which skills the students should be able to master.
The 2003 scores show that Gilroy schools are identifying problem areas and finding ways to improve them, Corral-Carlson said.
“We have most grades having more kids proficient in both language and math,” she said.
El Roble School experienced the largest increase overall – 18 percent – in the total number of students scoring at the proficient level in both English-language arts and math. The schools’ second- through sixth-graders increased their English score by 8 percent and math by 10 percent. The only scores that lowered at El Roble were those for sixth-grade math, which decreased by 1 percent.
Aside from the overall growth trend, several schools had students lose ground this year. Rod Kelley School showed the biggest difference in gains between English and math. While 11 percent more students in grades two through six scored proficient or above in math, 1 percent fewer students scored that level for English. Rod Kelley was the only school to have a decrease in the total number of students scoring at least proficient in either subject.
Some schools, such as Eliot and Glen View, had several lower scores while experiencing overall increases. At Eliot, a school with grades two through five, second-graders were the only group to raise English scores. Their 18 percent increase outweighed the decreases of nine percent, three percent, and one percent for the other three grades to give the school a 1 percent increase in total English scores.
At Glen View, students in the fifth grade showed the largest decrease in scores for any one grade level. Eight percent fewer fifth-graders passed the mark in English and 23 percent fewer in math.
Charter school El Portal also showed a significant decrease in students scoring at proficient or above in English. In 2002, 14 percent of the students reached that level, while in 2003, only 5 percent did. The math scores did not change.
“To have a more accurate assessment we measure our progress student by student,” said Noemi Garcia Reyes, principal of El Portal.
With only 77 students taking the test, and some students leaving the school as new ones came in, the difference does not necessarily reflect how the school as a whole is progressing, Reyes said.
More than half the students passed the English-language arts portion of the California High School Exit Exam last year, Reyes said. The exit exam standard is considered “less rigorous” than the CST equivalent, according to Department of Education officials.
This is the second year that California has administered the CST as part of the STAR, which also includes the California Achievement Test, Sixth Edition (CAT/6), a Spanish language test and a test for students with cognitive disabilities. February was the first time students took the CAT/6, which is a new test created by the state to replace the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT-9) to compare students to a national average.
