Gary Thomas, Ed.D. County Superintendent

Superintendent's Message

County Students Continue To Make Progress On State Tests

San Bernardino County students continue to make academic progress as evidenced by the recent release of results by the California Department of Education of two sets of statewide data. In addition to the positive growth in results from the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR), as well as the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE), there also were positive developments in decreases in the achievement gaps among subgroups of students.

Especially in these challenging economic times, it is heartening to see the continued focus on academic achievement between our teachers and the more than 420,000 students in kindergarten through Grade 12 in our county. It is impressive to see the growth taking place in our classrooms as the 33 school districts and more than 530 schools continue to post positive gains in student performance.

In the STAR results, there was improvement in nine out of 10 grade levels countywide in scores in English language arts for the 2009-10 academic year. Across grades from second-graders to juniors in high school, county students overall showed 3 percent growth in scores from 2008-09. Over the past eight years of testing in English language arts, county students across the 10 grade levels have made 18 points of growth.

There were similar gains in the mathematics portion of the STAR results, where there were increases in all but one grade for Grades 2-7, as well as increases in four out of five math subject areas among county secondary level students. In Grades 2-7, the group as a whole showed 2 percent growth overall in gains from 2008-09 to 2009-10. The increases were even more pronounced at the secondary school level where county students chalked up 4 percent growth in math. These are outstanding gains.

For the CAHSEE results, more than 32,000 county 10th-graders who took the two portions of the test in English language arts and math had the best passing rates in the 10 years it has been administered. The passage rate in English language art was 78 percent countywide, a gain of 2 percent from the record levels of 2008-09. In math, the passage rate was 76 percent, a 1 percent increase from last year's record level. Over the past decade, county 10th-graders have increased overall passing rates by 39 points in math and 16 points in English language arts.

There also was progress made in both sets of statewide test results in closing the achievement gaps among ethnic and demographic subgroups. In the STAR results, Hispanic students closed the gap on White students by 2 percent in scores for English language arts. African American students closed the gap on White students by 1 percent. Economically disadvantaged students also showed a 1 percent gain in closing the gap with their peers.

In math, Hispanic and African American students closed the gap with White students by the same margins as in English language arts.

For the CAHSEE, African American students (4 percent growth) doubled the growth rate of their White peers (2 percent growth) in passing the English language arts portion of the test. Hispanic students also closed the gap on White students with 1 percent more growth in passing rates.

While results from the state's STAR and CAHSEE are useful for measuring the progress of students, they should not be considered the only measurement for what's taking place in our schools. It's vitally important that parents be involved with their children's education, communicating with teachers and being aware of the learning that is taking place in their children's classrooms. With daily instruction and assessment of students as well as ongoing communication between school and home, teachers and parents together can assess fully students' progress and growth.