Elementary schools surpass county averages

School statewide test scores released last week are only the beginning of a month of evaluations of public schools, culminating Aug. 31 in the public release of state Academic Performance Index scores and federal Adequate Yearly Progress reports that decide whether schools have met their targets for the year.

At stake for schools is everything from Distinguished School status to intervention programs and funding, thanks to state law and the federal No Child Left Behind act.

School district officials tend to wait in trepidation for those numbers, as numerous requirements for success mean a school can do well in most areas but fall short because of one demographic group’s performance, or because a high score didn’t improve enough.

“I’m feeling good about almost all of those,” said Connie Mayhugh, the Huntington Beach City School District’s director of curriculum, instruction and assessment. But even she admits, “You can have this great program for all students, but at [the] same time the number has to be met for all the different subgroups.”

Huntington Beach’s elementary schools continue to surpass county averages in statewide testing, while the Huntington Beach Union High School District stayed mostly even with the county, lagging in math, according to results released last week.

This year’s results from the statewide Standardized Testing and Reporting program were released last week. Statewide data showed students still gaining on California Standards Tests, but not as much as in the first years of the federal No Child Left Behind program.

Students tested in the Huntington Beach City School District scored roughly 20% better than the county as a whole in English and math, and better in the other categories as well — though since the county figure includes districts of all grades, it’s not an apples-to-apples comparison.

The numbers are good news for the city school district, said Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services Lynn Bogart.

“We continue to be a high-performing district, and even to improve on that performance,” she said. “It’s a reflection of the focus our teachers and administrators have on student learning. It’s a validation.”

The Huntington Beach Union High School District’s performance roughly tracks the county as a whole, except for the 32.7% math proficiency score, which is 16.3% below the county percentage. Math scores in the district have lagged behind the county average for a number of years.

Results for the high school district have stayed relatively consistent, with some modest gains but no shocking changes, said Mayhugh.

“I don’t think there’s any school that surprised us either way,” she said “Either in huge gains or huge losses. I think we look for consistent gains and continuous improvement.”

For more detailed results, including those for particular schools, go to star.cde.ca.gov/star2007/Viewreport.asp.

Percentage of students tested who achieved a “Proficient” or “Advanced” score on California Standards Tests in 2007.