Gilroy
– Despite disappointment over student test scores released
Monday, Gilroy educators say they will use the results to improve
student achievement this coming year.
The mixed bag of scores from the state’s Standardized Testing
and Reporting (STAR) Program are especially frustrating, some say,
in light of schools’ heightened focus on improvement.
By Lori Stuenkel
Gilroy – Despite disappointment over student test scores released Monday, Gilroy educators say they will use the results to improve student achievement this coming year.
The mixed bag of scores from the state’s Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program are especially frustrating, some say, in light of schools’ heightened focus on improvement.
“The ironic thing is that we have implemented more new things
within these last two years and have worked harder these last two years,” said Sergio
Montenegro, principal of Luigi Aprea Elementary School – the district’s highest performing school, which saw two of four grade levels drop their scores. “I think that old adage may be true that maybe it’s not working harder, but working smarter.”
Gilroy Unified School District students lost ground on both reading and math scores, the first time overall progress was stagnant here in four years. Statewide, it was the same story.
With teachers returning to campus next week, schools already are planning how to use the STAR’s ups and downs to improve next year.
“First of all, we have to kind of look at things a little bit deeper and see if we can find out exactly what areas we’ll need to look at and focus on,” Eliot Principal Diane Elia said. “Where our holes were, where our gaps were, and find out how to address them.”
Eliot third and fourth graders improved this year, with the number of fourth graders who were proficient in the state’s standards improving from 18 to 35 percent in language arts and from 21 to 34 percent in math. In grade 2, students fell: 17 percent were proficient in language arts and 33 percent in math – 19 and 20 percentage point drops, respectively. Elia said grade 2 teachers would be number-crunching next week to find the specific reasons for the drop.
Approaches already being discussed at the school include changing the way students are grouped during the day to teach certain skills and, as part of the district’s Accountability Plan, using shorter but more frequent tests, like those included with textbooks, to check for progress.
“It’s kind of hard to know how worried to be, in a sense: If we were one district that stood out, that took a dive, or only one of our schools had a big drop in the second grade, there might be a problem,” Elia said. “But when it’s the same thing across the state, it makes you wonder if it has something to do with the way they calculate things. It’s kind of frustrating.”
The two components of STAR are the California Standards Test (CST), which measures students’ proficiency in state-specific curriculum, and the California Achievement Test (CAT-6), which compares students to their counterparts across the country. The CAT-6 was new last year and the CST has undergone some revisions.
Brownell Academy Middle School came under state sanctions two years ago and spent until this spring focusing intensely on improving instruction and teacher collaboration.
“What happens is, you improve dramatically, and it’s hard to keep that pace going,” Principal Suzanne Damm said Monday.
This year, some students again declined while sixth graders scoring at or above proficient increased from 24 to 41 percent over last year in language arts, and 21 to 33 percent in math.
“The teachers are in a better place now, as far as looking at the data and feeling that it’s OK to look at where we’re not doing well – as well as where we are – because that’s what’s going to tell us where we can improve,” Damm said. “I’m not worried about … the momentum. I think if anything, it’s going to pick up (because) there was a lot of stress with the sanctions as well.”
Antonio Del Buono Elementary School’s STAR results were one of the bright spots for the district this year, holding steady or improving in three of four grade levels, with second grade decreasing.
Two years ago, Del Buono led the district in student achievement and last year again posted strong gains. Principal Tammy Gabel, who starts her second year at Del Buono this fall, said she is honored to be part of a school with three years of consistent growth.
“I’m pleased that we were able to continue to make growth,” Gabel said in an e-mail. “As a school, we consistently implemented research based practices school wide. We are able to do this because of the willingness and interest on the part of the staff to do their best work, and to work collegially together.”
Gabel credited the school’s literacy facilitators with providing leadership and support for classroom teachers. Also, a large team of teachers participated in the San Jose State master’s degree program – two of whom were in the fifth grade, where teachers collaborated particularly well, Gabel said. Fifth-graders posted gains of eight and 10 percentage points in language arts and math, respectively.
“One of the most effective practices modeled in fifth grade was the use of ‘Link word’, where the vocabulary of students was developed to an in-depth degree,” Gabel said.
As with most other district elementaries, second-grade scores fell.
To address the second grade drop-off, Gabel said teachers will pinpoint which students declined and where; evaluate and possibly alter the teaching strategies used in those areas; and monitor progress, making adjustments as needed.
“Those adjustments might include a change in instructional practice, coaching and modeling of teaching strategies for teachers, a review of student work related to standards and more,” she said.
One major focus next year will be high school math scores, which fell for the third year in a row. Principal Bob Bravo said a math teacher will be released from the classroom part-time to coordinate “mastery tests” for students throughout the year. The brief tests will be given once every four to six weeks.
“You just have to pass it – it’s an absolute ‘have to’,” Bravo said. “It raises the expectations on both the students and the teachers: The students know they have to pass and it also raises expectations for the teachers in terms of support.”
Most school board trustees and candidates reached by the Gilroy Dispatch had not yet reviewed the STAR results in detail and could not comment.
Pat Midtgaard, a school board candidate and retired GUSD teacher and principal, said she spent a couple hours going over elementary schools’ results on Monday.
She noted several pockets of excellence in the scores, but agreed with Superintendent Edwin Diaz that the scores for grades 2 and 3 need to be closely examined, particularly in light of the high school students’ shortcomings.
“You have to look back and see what’s that building process – what are we doing to get these kids ready for the exit exam?” she said. “You can’t just look at the high school and draw conclusions, you have to look back.”
