Gilroy outperforms the state and post gains for GATE as well as
ELL students
Gilroy – Schools across the district made gains in almost every subject tested according to results of the 2005 Standardized Testing and Reporting program released Monday. While scores from the California Standards Tests remained largely stagnant last year, district officials are attributing much of the success this year to Gilroy Unified School District’s accountability plan.
In addition, the district outperformed the state both in English Language Arts (ELA) and math for one-year growth and for five-year growth, Superintendent Edwin Diaz said.
The district grew 6 percent this year in the area of ELA, while the state grew 5 percent. Over a five-year period, GUSD grew 11.4 percent, while the state grew nine. In math, GUSD experienced 7.4 percent growth over last year – the state grew 4 percent.
Diaz believes much of the success is the result of a combination of factors such as staff development, a focus by teachers on student achievement and teachers’ use of data to analyze student learning.
“That’s exactly the type of growth you want to see,” Diaz said, citing that students in all areas, from Gifted and Talented Education to English Language Learners, are benefiting.
Over the past five years, the percentage of English Learner students scoring in the proficient and advanced categories more than doubled from 8.4 percent in 2000-01 to 21.1 percent in 2004-05. The number of EL students scoring in the far below basic group was almost halved in the same period.
GATE students experienced steady growth over the past five years in ELA, moving 6.4 percentage points – from 88.7 percent scoring in the proficient and advanced range to 95.2 percent.
“Our goal is all children will continuously improve their achievement,” Diaz said, pointing to the GUSD poster hanging on the wall in his office.
However, despite outperforming the state in grades three, six, seventh and ninth in ELA, officials are not celebrating.
“The most disturbing trend that we found is that there is a significant drop-off in math proficiency from fourth through eleventh grade,” Diaz said. “Obviously math is a problem in the high school and the middle schools … We have a lot of work to do in the upper grades to match that growth (in the elementary levels).”
This year’s Gilroy High School’s Algebra I CST score revealed that only 4 percent of ninth graders were proficient/advanced – statewide that figure was 19 percent.
In geometry, 27 percent of GHS ninth-graders scored in the proficient/advanced range, while 47 percent of freshman statewide did.
“It appears there is a larger gap than there should be (in math),” said new GHS Principal James Maxwell. “Until I go in and watch the classes and talk to the teachers I don’t know (what the problems are).”
Last year, the district implemented data teams to meet weekly and review material taught and use tests to measure how well students grasped concepts. While many schools did not have these teams functioning until almost January, Maxwell felt the teams will impact math results in the future.
“I think we will probably see results a year from now,” he said. “I was very impressed with what (GHS’ Assistant Principal) Kat Hannah said our math department is doing with data – but you will see greater numbers.”
Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services Jackie Horejs said the data teams are key for district improvement.
“We really think that the process of teachers sitting down at a table, looking at what they taught that week … helped students to really excel,” she said. “It’s that teacher collaboration – finding out what’s working.”
Ascension Solorsano Middle School Principal Sal Tomasello agreed that teacher collaboration is one of the primary reasons test scores are up.
“When staff returns on the 24th we will be looking in departments and really analyzing where the growth was,” he said.
Solorsano sixth grade students experienced about nine percentage point gains in both math and ELA over last year.
“We feel very confident in the kind of collaboration with teachers that we’ll be successful,” Tomasello said.
New South Valley Junior High Principal John Perales believes that the school’s writing initiative last year impacted this year’s ELA scores, which were elevated by about nine points across the board.
Perales stressed the importance of making certain students understand the basic math components of multiplication, division and measurements before moving them along.
“We need to make sure that we’re hitting those gaps,” he said.
Once the school staff dissects the results, Perales believes they will find which classes and initiatives make a difference.
“Then we’re going to blow the doors off those tests,” he predicted.
Perales attributed much of the school’s success to the district’s accountability plan.
“We’re riding that wave of being grounded in data and learning what we’re doing,” he said.
While the district lags in math scores, they are making strides at all levels – in every school.
“Teachers and school administrators have really been focusing on student achievement and especially focusing on each student – and that’s what it takes,” Horejs said.
