Test Scores Raise Hope, Concerns

School administrators across the San Fernando and Antelope valleys began sending home standardized test scores this week that revealed promising results for several school districts, but raised concerns for others.

A review of five of the region’s largest school systems--those outside the Los Angeles Unified School District--showed that students in most performed at or above the national average in reading, math and language.

In the Las Virgenes Unified School District, for instance, seventh-graders reached the 83rd percentile on the language portion of the Stanford 9 exam.

“People expect kindergartners to read immediately,” Las Virgenes Supt. John Fitzpatrick said of expectations in his district. “People here expect those things.”

But school districts with large numbers of limited-English-speaking students grappled with lower scores. Tenth-graders in the Glendale Unified School District, where nearly half of students have limited English skills, landed in the 32nd percentile in reading, the bottom one-third nationally.

The Stanford 9 was administered this spring to more than 4 million students in grades 2 through 11 across California. School districts are now releasing results as they become available.

Earlier this week, the state Department of Education released statewide test data for students who are fluent in English. A court order barred the department from publishing test scores for students with limited English skills, saying such action would be harmful.

But districts are free to release their own information.

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L.A. Unified offered its own limited analysis this week showing that its composite score rose by one point over last year--from the 31st to the 32nd percentile--for students proficient in English. The school district is expected to release more complete scores next week.

Several of the 16 local school districts in the San Fernando and Antelope valleys say they are still analyzing the data.

But five of the largest area school systems--including Burbank Unified, Saugus Union School District and the William S. Hart Union High School District--have made their information available.

Glendale Unified, with 30,000 students, is the largest of the local districts to do so.

All grades in the district scored below the national average--or the 50th percentile--in reading; three grades landed in the bottom third nationally. Students performed better in language and math, mostly scoring at or above the 50th percentile.

But district administrators--like their counterparts in Burbank and elsewhere--said including test results of students who speak limited English skews the results. They said just 1.8% of the students in the Stanford 9 national sample were classified as limited-English proficient, far less than many local districts.

“The concern is that the test doesn’t give an accurate representation of student achievement,” said Linda Kaminski, the Glendale district’s coordinator for research and evaluation.

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An analysis by Glendale administrators showed, among other things, that English-speaking sixth-graders scored in the 55th percentile in reading while their counterparts with limited English skills landed in the 10th percentile. Some of the Glendale students who took the Stanford 9 spoke no English, and a handful were tested even though they had just arrived in the United States, the administrators said.

“If we look at our students who do speak English, for whom the test is designed, they are doing as well as students across the country,” Kaminski said. “I think that speaks highly for the district.”

School districts with small numbers of limited-English speakers voiced similar objections.

The Hart high school district in Santa Clarita, where just 5% of the 14,000 students are classified as limited-English proficient, tested students regardless of their language abilities. But administrators reported results only for those who have a command of English.

“If students can’t think in English, how are they supposed to take a test in English?” asked Gary Wexler, the district’s director of curriculum and assessment. “I don’t think it’s educationally or statistically valid.”

The Hart district, which serves grades 7 through 12, posted impressive test results. More than half of its scores were above the 61st percentile. Wexler said test scores for all students will be made available next week.

In the Las Virgenes district--which serves West Valley areas from Westlake Village to Calabasas--language played a lesser role in the testing outcome. Just 3% of the 11,600 students have limited English skills. Even with all scores reported together, the district still outperformed its neighbors.

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Scores ranged from the 57th to 83rd percentile. More than two-thirds of the scores were above the 70th percentile.

Still, superintendent Fitzpatrick said he was dissatisfied. He expected students to improve next year because the Stanford 9 will be familiar.

“We can do better,” he said. “It’s the first year we took the test. I’ve got people who expect us to be in the 80s and 90s.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Test Scores by Grade for Valley-Area School Districts

LANGUAGE

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School District 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th Burbank Unified 48 42 52 54 53 56 53 46 43 Glendale Unified 47 42 54 55 58 59 55 59 44 Las Virgenes Unified 66 72 75 78 77 83 78 76 72 Saugus Union 74 71 68 71 73 - - - - Wm. S. Hart Union High* - - - - - 68 68 63 48

School District 11th Burbank Unified 47 Glendale Unified 48 Las Virgenes Unified 76 Saugus Union - Wm. S. Hart Union High* 56

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READING

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School District 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th Burbank Unified 42 40 48 47 48 47 48 34 36 Glendale Unified 39 37 44 42 45 47 47 35 32 Las Virgenes Unified 61 70 76 76 75 77 73 65 64 Saugus Union 65 66 67 67 69 - - - - Wm. S. Hart Union High* - - - - - 61 66 53 47

School District 11th Burbank Unified 40 Glendale Unified 35 Las Virgenes Unified 64 Saugus Union - Wm. S. Hart Union High* 51

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MATHEMATICS

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School District 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th Burbank Unified 50 47 53 48 55 46 47 49 50 Glendale Unified 52 46 48 51 60 58 57 57 54 Las Virgenes Unified 57 73 71 75 82 82 77 78 71 Saugus Union 73 73 70 74 80 - - - - Wm. S. Hart Union High* - - - - - 65 68 68 53

School District 11th Burbank Unified 48 Glendale Unified 54 Las Virgenes Unified 72 Saugus Union - Wm. S. Hart Union High* 59

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

WHAT THE CHART MEANS

The scores above, derived from the Stanford 9 Achievement Test taken in the spring, represent the national percentile ranks for each grade in each school district. They are an indication of how the students’ scores compare to other scores from a national sample. A score of 50 is average. It does not represent the percentage of correct answers.

* William S. Hart Union High scores exclude non-English-proficient students.