Tests Show Local Schools Vastly Outpacing the State

This year’s STAR results give the Los Alamitos Unified School District a lot to brag about.

For the first time ever, two classes in the district have achieved 100% proficiency in math; the classes are Lee Elementary School’s second grade class and Weaver Elementary School’s fourth-grade class.

In addition to that achievement, the district’s 2010-2011 STAR results also improved overall in the K-8 levels. According to Superintendent Sherry Kropp, the results indicate that all K-8 schools in the district will have an academic performance index of more than 900 (800 is the goal, 1,000 is the maximum).

“We are ecstatic,” said Kropp. “I am extremely proud of the work our teachers and staff are doing.”

With 81 percent of Los Alamitos students testing proficient or advanced in English, the district far outpaced Orange County students as a whole, 62 percent of whom the tests found advanced or proficient in English. The statewide figure is 54.4 percent.

The STAR exams—which stands for Standardized Testing and Reporting—test students in subjects including English, Math, Algebra I, U.S. History, World History, Biology and Physics. The exam is based on the California content standards, and students are rated on five levels of performance for each subject: advanced, proficient, basic, below basic, and far below basic. The goal is to reach “proficient.”

Most of the highlights from this year’s results came from the K-8 students. In grades 2, 3, and 4, more than 90% scored proficient in math, and in geometry, grades 8 and 9 also scored more than 90% proficient.

In English Language Arts, grades 3,4,5,6,7,8,11 all improved. In math, grades 2,3,4,5,6,7 also improved.

Once students reach eighth grade, the testing is more diverse as students are tested by subject, not necessarily by grade. In the social sciences, scores improved in grades 8 and 11.

For the high schools, the results were mixed with some subjects going up and others going down. Part of the mixed results, she explained, is the number of subjects that high school students are tested in, which makes the high school results more complicated.

 “At the high school level, there’s no simple answer if it went up or down; (the results) are all over the place,” Kropp said.

Despite the high school STAR results being mixed, last year was a good year for Los Alamitos High School, district officials said.

This past year, Los Alamitos High School was ranked 166 in the nation by Newsweek and was recognized by the College Board for increasing enrollment in advanced placement (AP) courses while at the same time increasing its AP passing rate. Last year, 83.4% of students passed their AP tests, which is the highest passage rate the district has had.

Additionally, 68% of the high school’s seniors met the requirements for entrance into the UC and CSU system.

The district’s good news follows a year of economic strain for the district. Despite the cuts, however, Kropp said that the district is surviving by remaining on what’s “mission critical.”

“Everybody is doing multiple tasks, and rolling up their sleeves and pitching in,” she said. “We’ve held on as much as we can and made staff development a priority to get better and better at what we do.”

Although the district is celebrating its success, Kropp said that there is still work to be done.

“You have to have a culture where you keep owning and trying to help all kids,” she said. “If you keep that culture you’ll always go up over time in every subject.”

For more information about STAR testing and to view results by state, district and school visit http://star.cde.ca.gov/star2011/Index.aspx.

Patch reporter Penny Arévalo contributed to this report.