District Students Improve Test Performance

   Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Superintendent John Deasy says that the students of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified District are showing “steady, measured progress” in meeting the state standards. “We are delivering on our promise of extraordinary achievement for all students while simultaneously closing the achievement gap,” said Deasy.
   The 2004 test scores for the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) and California’s STAR assessments show that the performance of SMMUSD students compares favorably with statewide averages.
   89 percent of district student passed mathematics and 91 percent passed English-Language Arts in comparison to the state and county CAHSEE pass rates that are between 15 and 18 percentage points lower as shown in the chart below.

   In addition, the District’s English Learners have performed better than their counterparts in the county and state. The chart below shows that 63 percent of district English learners passed CAHSEE math compared to only 48 and 49 percent who passed in the county and state. In English, 57 percent of district English learners passed CAHSEE compared to 42 percent in the county as a whole and 39 percent statewide.

   Similarly, District low income students achieve at much higher levels than low income students in the county and state. Seventy-seven percent passed CAHSEE math and 83 percent passed English compared to the much lower pass rates in the county and state.

   Deasy said, “We are proud of our students and clearly fortunate to have quality teaching and administrative staff at our high schools. The performance of our sophomores on the CAHSEE is an early indicator of the success we are beginning to see through redesign at Samohi.”
   The main components of the STAR exams are the California Standards Tests. District students’ performance on these tests exceeds statewide performance at all grade levels.

   District officials were particularly impressed by the dramatically improved performance of students still learning English or struggling with poverty. In addition to far exceeding the statewide performance levels, they showed significant increases in proficiency between 2003 and 2004 in grades 4-7 and 9 in English Language Arts.

   Math performance by English Learners also runs ahead of statewide averages and represents strong gains over the last two years at all elementary and middle school grades, including Algebra I.

   Low income District students also perform at much higher levels than statewide. Results demonstrated significant improvement in English at grades 4, 5, 8 and 10. Grades 4 and 5 increased by 8 and 7 percentage points, respectively. Performance by low income students in eighth grade increased by 16 percentage points over the two years.

   The District noted that these improvements have taken place in the midst of severe cuts in schools’ budgets. In a letter accompanying the release of the 2004 test results, State Superintendent Jack O’Connell notes that “K-12 education has been cut in California by $9 billion over the last three years. This is a significant loss to our system and next year’s budget offers no relief.”