The standardized test results posted by Gilroy Unified School
District students for the 2003-2004 school year are disconcerting.
Rather than showing the expected
– and promised – modest gains across the board, many grade
levels posted losses, or remained level.
The standardized test results posted by Gilroy Unified School District students for the 2003-2004 school year are disconcerting. Rather than showing the expected – and promised – modest gains across the board, many grade levels posted losses, or remained level.
It’s easy to write off the test results as the logical outcome of a “brain drain” of excellent students to private schools. That’s a convenient excuse that shortchanges our students.
It’s possible that a plateau is a natural part of the testing life cycle. It’s a reasonable theory that test results would be low the first year of a test, then increase for a year or two as teachers and students adapt to the test, then plateau.
If that’s the case, it’s fair to wonder about the validity of the STAR testing system, and to raise questions about the amount of time spent taking tests, and about the wisdom of teaching to the test.
But, speaking pragmatically, the STAR report is the only quantifiable measure of student progress we’ve got, especially in the lower grades.
And the many falling scores in the lower grade levels are raising red flags. As a state, California has committed millions of dollars to reducing class size in kindergarten through third grade, and it’s fair to ask: Is this the best way to spend that money?
Gilroy’s test results are similar to STAR results posted across the state. In light of the test scores, we think it’s wise to wonder if the millions spent on additional teachers’ salaries and facilities to accommodate 20-to-1 ratios in the lower elementary gains is paying dividends.
Reducing classroom sizes seems to make common sense. Teachers love it. But if it doesn’t pay off in better-educated students, we need to find more advantageous places to invest education dollars.
We can’t treat these
worrisome test results with a shrug and an “ain’t it a shame,” and continue along the same path. We can’t prescribe words and platitudes to raise test scores.
We must look at our goal – producing students who end each school year performing at or above grade level – and use the STAR test results as a tool to help us find real reforms to get GUSD there.
It’s not just important to our students – although a good education is undeniably a building block to a successful life. It’s important to our society and to our country’s future. Today’s students will compete for jobs and customers in a global economy. Not just Gilroy, but California and the nation must produce well-educated students to ensure that our way of life and standard of living is maintained.
Let’s eschew platitudes and excuses, and work together to find ways to make sure Gilroy’s students are performing at or above grade level.
