Laguna schools’ scores rise, fall

Andrew Edwards

The results of standardized tests scores released Monday showed that

while Laguna Beach students’ scores showed some declines, local

students fare well when compared to others in the county and the

state.

“The moral of the story is, I think, statewide, we were surprised

by some of the declines,” said Assistant Supt. Steven Keller.

The district expected to see a bounce in scores this year, a new

math program was started in the 2002-03 school year and last

September the district initiated a new English curriculum.

“We thought we would see a bump in those scores ... quite frankly

I’m surprised that we didn’t,” Keller said.

Declines in scores from the Standardized Testing and Reporting

program were most notable in the lower grades. There were some drops

in high school scores, though Laguna teenagers also made gains in

multiple subjects.

The state scores the standardized tests on a five-level system.

Advanced is the highest level, followed by proficient, basic, below

basic and far below basic. Students must achieve proficient or

advanced levels to meet the state’s goals.

Results from the California High School Exit Exam were also

released Monday. More Laguna Beach High School students passed the

math and English portion of the exam in 2004 than in 2003.

“Our high school exit exam scores were the highest in the county,”

Laguna Beach High School Principal Nancy Blade said.

In Laguna’s two elementary schools, the percentage of students

ranked as “proficient” or “advanced” in math and English dropped or

stayed the same in all grade levels, except for the fifth-grade. A

greater percentage of fifth-graders at both El Morro and Top of the

World elementary schools met state targets in English and math in

2004 than in 2003.

Some of the bigger drops were in third-grade English scores. At El

Morro, the percentage of third-graders hitting the state target fell

13 points to 51%. At Top of the World, that number dropped 22 points

to 50%.

Like Keller, Top of the World Principal Ron La Motte expected the

new English program would have boosted scores.

“I was somewhat surprised that the language arts scores were not

higher, since we had instituted a program that was more rigorous than

before, so maybe it will take a while for that to show up in test

results,” he said.

On the plus side, El Morro, fifth-graders reaching state goals in

math jumped 20 points to 64%. El Morro fifth-graders also improved

their math, 76% scored well in math, up seven points from 2003.

A greater percentage of students at Laguna’s elementary schools

met state targets in math and English in all grade levels than in

Orange County or California.

At Thurston Middle School, math scores went up in grades six and

seven, while eighth-grade scores improved for English and history.

Scores dropped in algebra 1 and sixth- and seventh-grade English. A

larger percentage of students at Thurston ranked proficient or better

in all subjects tested than countywide or statewide percentages.

Laguna Beach High School saw scores rise in some subjects and fall

in others. A notable decline was made by freshmen and sophomores

studying biology -- big drops were made in both grade levels. One of

the more noticeable improvements was for juniors taking algebra 2.

Only 5% of juniors met the state target in the subject in 2003, but

the number rose 24% last school year.

In comparison with the state and county, Laguna Beach High School

students scored very well in English, history and the sciences,

despite declines in science at the high school. A greater percentage

of Laguna students tested in those subjects earned high rankings than

their counterparts in all of Orange County and California.

Blade said that since high school students have an obvious

incentive to succeed on the exit exam -- the class of 2006 needs to

pass to graduate -- the way to improve scores on other state tests

might be to give students more motivation.

Though the district fared well compared with other areas, Keller

said administrators plan to work on a plan to reverse the declines

and will wait for teachers to return to work to figure out a

strategy.

“We can do better,” Keller said. “Of course we can.”