Standardized Test Scores Improve for San Lorenzo Students, Still Fall Below State Average

East Bay students scored higher than the state average in English and math, according to just-released standardized test results.

Some 4.7 million students took the 2011 Standardized Testing and Reporting assessment known as STAR. Fifty-four percent of them scored proficient or better in English-language arts and 50 percent were proficient or better in math, according to the California Department of Education.

However, students fell a bit short from those averages—46 percent of them scored at grade level or higher in English and nearly 40 percent at grade level or better in math.

In Alameda County where 162,410 students were tested, 59.6 percent scored at least proficient in English and 54.4 percent in math.

In Contra Costa County, scores were nearly the same: 60.6 percent proficient or more in language and 55.1 percent in math among the tested.

Students in second through 11th grades are tested in several subjects and ranked by the following levels: far below basic, below basic, basic, proficient or advanced.

Both state and East Bay scores are the highest since the program launched in 2003. That first year, just 35 percent of California students ranked proficient in math and English.

“The significant and sustained improvements we’ve seen for nine consecutive years prove how hard teachers, school employees, administrators and parents are working to help students achieve despite budget cuts that have affected our schools,” State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson said in a statement. “Their heroic teamwork is paying off for California.”

Though overall test scores increased, an achievement gap remains.

Black and Latino students continue to lag behind their white and Asian peers. Students from poor families and those for whom English is a second language also struggle to keep up, the numbers show.

STAR scores are used to come up with schools' Academic Performance Index and Adequate Yearly Progress report. Dropout and exit exam rates also factor into the API and AYP assessments.

Dropout rates were released Friday; those for the California High School Exit Exam are due out next week and the AYP and API scores will be released on Aug. 31.

San Lorenzo Unified

• 46 percent tested at grade-level or higher in English
• 39.3 percent tested at grade-level or higher in math
• 8,458 students took the test
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