Because 2015 is the first year of the new tests and because they are substantially different from their predecessors, SPUSD Superintendent Alfonso Gamino said the CAASPP results will serve as a baseline from which to measure future progress and should not be compared to results from the state’s previous assessments, the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) program. “It’s a different test,” he added. “You’re not measuring in the same way. It’s apples and oranges.” He said the district leadership met last week to go over the results. He noted that they will be going over the data with the teachers and they’ll share the data with parents. He added, “The first step is looking at the data and understanding it.”
The CAASPP tests for English language arts/literacy and mathematics were given to students in grades three through eight and grade eleven. They consist of two parts. First, is an adaptive test taken on a computer that gives students different follow-up questions based on their answers, thereby providing a more refined picture of a student’s abilities. Second, is a performance task that challenges students to apply their knowledge and skills to real-world problems. The two parts measure depth of understanding, writing, research, and problem-solving skills.
In contrast, STAR was a multiple-choice, paper-based test in which students, for the most part, filled in bubbles on paper and could more easily guess correct answers.
On CAASPP, students’ scores fall into one of four achievement levels: standard exceeded, standard met, standard nearly met, and standard not met.
For SPUSD students, 30% met or exceeded the standards in English Language Arts (ELA) and 20% met or exceeded the math standards. For English, 31% nearly met and 39% did not meet the standards. In math, 15% nearly met the standards and 48% did not.
If you break the results down by grade level fifth graders scored highest for elementary students in English with 36% meeting or exceeding the standards and third graders getting the highest numbers at 21%.
For Isbell Middle School seventh and eighth grade students met or exceeded the standards at 32%. In math the eighth graders had the highest percentage at 24%. The high school juniors showed 42% meeting or exceeding the standards in English and 20% in math.
The results indicate that both countywide and statewide the numbers weren’t much better with only about 10% higher numbers for meeting and exceeding the standards.
In a press release State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson said, “California is in the process of transforming its schools with increased funding, higher academic standards, more local control, and additional support for students and schools with the greatest needs—and this will take time,”
