Students Scoring Higher on Standardized Tests

STAR test results show increase among most schools in the state

San Diego students got a collective A+ from the state, as standardized test scores show yet another improvement from last year.

Results showed incremental increases for San Diego County Schools in all categories on the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) test, according to the results released Friday.

Click here for a breakdown of the county results, or to search by school district.

The county saw a 3 percent spike from students in grades two through 11 who scored at least proficient or advanced on the English test. There was a 1 percent increase compared to last year for the students in Math.

Over the past five years, the test scores have improved up to 12 percent in some subjects, the results for San Diego County show.

At San Diego Unified School District -- the region’s largest district -- science test scores had the most dramatic increase compared to last year with a 5 percent jump in scores meeting state standards. History and Social Sciences made a 4 percent jump, followed by a 2 percent jump in English scores and a 1 percent jump in Math scores, the results for the district showed.

Source: San Diego Unified School District Office of Accountability

"Our test scores have steadily gone up since 2008," said Dr. John Lee Evans, President of the Board of Education in a statement Friday. "This shows we were on the right track this year when we worked out an agreement to recall 1,500 teachers back to the classroom. We need every one of these teachers to continue producing these great results."

California averages show similar improvement. Overall, English scores were up two percentage points, math up one point, science up five points and history/social sciences were up four points.

Although minority students, English-learners and economically disadvantaged students are scoring better than they did five years ago, the districts and county still consider the scores an ongoing issue.

The so-called achievement gap is still wide among African American and Hispanic students in San Diego County, compared to the students’ white and Asian peers. County education officials expressed some concern over the scores of English learners, as well as the economically disadvantaged students’ scores.

Click here to see some of the sample questions on the tests.

“We’re seeing progress, but it’s not happening fast enough for the students who are now in our schools,” read a statement from the San Diego County Board of Education.

San Diego schools follow a statewide trend toward better test scores. On average, 2012 marked the ninth straight year of improvements in California on the STAR tests.

"In less than a decade, California has gone from having only one student in three score proficient to better than one student in two," said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson in a written statement. "That's nearly 900,000 more students reaching proficiency now than in 2003—a remarkable achievement that represents real, sustained improvements in learning.”

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