Less than half of California's schoolchildren scored proficient or better on standardized tests in English and math last year, and many of the largest districts in the Sacramento region didn't fare much better.
State schools chief Jack O'Connell said Thursday that California public school students continued to make progress on the Standardized Testing and Reporting program.
In the past six years, the percentage of students scoring at least proficient increased by 11 points in English and 8 points in math. Still, during the 2007-08 school year, the percentage of students scoring proficient or advanced was 45.8 percent in English and 42.7 percent in math.
Here are some basic questions and answers about the STAR program.
What is STAR?
The program is designed to measure how well students meet state standards in English, math, science and history-social science. Students are scored as advanced, proficient, basic, below basic and far below basic.
Who takes the tests?
Students in second through 11th grades, including students with disabilities and English learners. About 4.75 million participated last year.
Why does STAR matter?
It's one of several measures used to determine if schools measure up under the federal No Child Left Behind law.
When can parents see results?
Schools must provide individual student results to parents within 20 working days of getting them from the state. Districts typically mail them to each student's home.
Where can you find results online?
Test results can be accessed at star.cde.ca.gov. Click on the bulleted STAR 2008 Test Results. Click on 2008 STAR Search on the left side of screen. Enter your county, district and school name using the pull-down arrow. Click on the SEARCH button.
See the report after clicking on View Report. To get a summary, go to Select a Test and choose CST Summary.
How did large school districts in the Sacramento region score?
In Sacramento City Unified, 42.7 percent of students were proficient or better in English and 41.9 in math. In San Juan Unified, 51.4 percent were proficient in English and 47.5 percent in math. In Elk Grove Unified, 51.3 percent were proficient in English and 49.2 percent in math. In Yolo County's Davis Joint Unified School District, 73.4 percent were proficient in English and 66.8 percent in math. In El Dorado County's Lake Tahoe Unified School District, 44.6 percent were proficient in English and 42 percent in math. And in Placer County's Rocklin Unified School District, 68.1 percent were proficient in English and 61.4 percent in math.
Call The Bee's Bill Lindelof, (916) 321-1079.
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