Santa Maria’s high schools showed steady gains in language and math proficiency over the past year, while its elementary schools experienced more varied results, according to data released by the California Department of Education on Sept. 16.
The state’s Growth Academic Performance Index charted performance from 2008 based on annual assessment tests: the Standardized Testing and Reporting Program (STAR) and the California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE).
All three Santa Maria high schools showed increases in API from 2008, but seven of the Santa Maria Bonita School District’s 15 elementary schools registered declines.
Only three schools in the district reached federal Annual Yearly Progress goals required under the No Child Left Behind Act: Alvin Elementary, Bonita Elementary, and Taylor Elementary.
The AYP requires all students—including special education students and English language learners—to be proficient in English language arts and math. Federal guidelines require 11-percent growth from year to year and full proficiency by 2014.
Santa Maria-Bonita School District spokeswoman Maggie White said the results are no cause for alarm.
“It reflects that we are continuing to grow, and that’s the important thing to remember,” she explained. “Though we may not be growing at the speed at which the federal government is requiring, many districts and schools consider that speed to be unrealistic.”
Overall, the Bonita district registered zero growth in API from last year, staying at 708 points.
The Santa Maria Joint Union School District also didn’t meet federal standards, despite posting an increase of 12 points, from 692 to 704.
All three high schools in the district showed growth in API scores; Ernest Righetti High School topped the list at 756, followed by Pioneer Valley High School at 693 and Santa Maria High School at 676.
Tommie Kunst Junior High, which raised its API by 17 points to 764, led all Santa Maria-Bonita middle schools. Taylor had the top API among elementary schools, with a growth score of 768.
In 2008, several elementary schools in the district recorded API scores that plunked them in the bottom 10 percent of the state: Adam Elementary, Arellanes Elementary, Calvin C. Oakley Elementary, and Alvin.
In the latest report, Adam dropped 52 points to 628, the lowest API score in the district. Alvin, which had the district’s lowest API last year, rose 30 points. Arellanes grew by 23 points.
Other elementary schools—Liberty, Miller, and Rice—registered double-digit declines from last year. White called the numbers a “temporary setback,” pointing out that those schools have experienced positive growth over the past few years.
“The testing is just a snapshot,” she said. “I think if you’re seeing a continued decline, then certainly parents could be concerned about what’s happening at the school, but I think year to year you’re going to see ups and downs, and that’s just reflective of hitting a plateau and perhaps not being able to sustain it.”
According to Isa Jimenez of the Central Coast Literacy Center, the biggest single factor for schools struggling to raise test scores is a lack of parent involvement.
“Parents are not participating,” Jimenez said. “They’re not reading with the kids, they’re not teaching the kids the skills at home. They’re not following up with what the teacher is teaching, so there’s no continuity.
“Something’s broken there,” she added.
Many of the elementary schools with lower proficiency scores have a high number of Hispanic students and English language learners, according to Jimenez. The biggest challenge facing those schools, she said, is trying to connect teachers with their students’ parents, many of whom don’t speak English and are intimidated by the school system.
“We’re talking about a vast population of Hispanic people whose median education is eighth grade,” Jimenez said. “They didn’t do that well in their youth because maybe they didn’t have the opportunity, but we’re giving their kids the opportunity, so they should make the best of it.”
With pressure to get test scores up, teachers have focused more on teaching what the tests require and have neglected critical thinking skills, Jimenez said.
“Tests can be intimidating. If your effective level isn’t working in a way expected of you to be normal, you’re not going to be able to show what you know,” Jimenez said. “Sometimes they’re just being drilled to do this testing and to do well, but the essence is that even if they do well, in many cases that doesn’t mean much.”
While she said the district will examine what curricula are working in schools with higher proficiency scores, White agreed that standardized testing results aren’t an indicator of real classroom performance and shouldn’t be relied on by parents to define their children or school.
“Students are in school to learn over the course of their career,” White said. “That’s definitely what’s happening, particularly with English learners.”
To help improve students’ ability in language arts, according to Jimenez, schools can partner with organizations like the Literacy Council, the library, scouting groups for boys and girls, and nonprofit organizations.
Most importantly, she said, schools and teachers can remind parents of the crucial role they play outside of the classroom.
“We just need to bring the spirits up,” Jimenez said. “Parents need to be more aware what they mean to their kids and what they can do for their kids’ future. We can never give up. We should never give up.” m
Staff Writer Jeremy Thomas can be contacted at jthomas@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Sep 24 – Oct 1, 2009.