County 12th-Graders Score High on Tests : But Seniors’ Rate of Improvement Lags Behind That of Their Classmates in State

Orange County high school seniors scored well above their California classmates in all areas of the state’s basic skills test, though they showed less improvement in their scores than other 12th-graders--evidence that the county’s achievements in boosting students’ basic skills may be leveling off.

While high school students in Orange County have traditionally scored well above state averages on the annual California Assessment Program--a barometer of ability in reading, writing, spelling and mathematics--this year’s local scores did not show the level of improvement registered elsewhere in the state, according to 1984-85 test results released Monday.

The difference was only a few tenths of a percent. For instance, math scores in Orange County were 0.3% better than last year, compared to a 0.9% average improvement statewide, and reading scores declined 0.3%, compared to a 0.7% statewide improvement. Similar growth rates were reflected in writing and spelling scores.

Orange County school officials say the trend is far from alarming and may simply indicate that the county has already done as much as possible to improve basic skills.

‘Diminishing Returns’

“It’s understandable because diminishing returns sets in,” county schools Supt. Robert Peterson said. “In other words, the more you accomplish, the greater difficulty there is in accomplishing more.

“If anything, it’s a favorable result because it shows that we’re improving but not at the rate of counties that have a lot to catch up on.”

Orange County seniors scored an average of 65.1% in reading, compared to 62.9% statewide. Written expression scores averaged 66.3%, compared to 63.2% statewide; spelling averaged 71.9% (69.7% statewide), and mathematics averaged 71.9% (68.3% statewide).

However, this year’s tests provided an extra incentive for high schools to improve their scores, one that any high school senior would have no trouble identifying with: Money.

Under the Education Improvement Incentive Program (also known as “Cash for CAP”), the state is providing $14.32 million to schools that administered the CAP tests to 93% of their students and that registered improvements over last year.

9 May Receive Money

Interviews with Orange County high school officials indicate that while final allocations have not been announced, at least nine of 15 school districts that have high schools expect to receive some incentive money--which could amount to several thousand dollars for schools with large test score gains.

While all of those districts showed improvements in their scores, many of them showed even more substantial improvement in the number of students taking the test--a key goal for state officials this year. Bill Burson of the state Department of Education said administration of the CAP test, though mandatory, has been “casual, careless and even sloppy” in past years. For instance, only 80% of California’s students took it last year, a figure comparable to many Orange County school districts’ test rates.

This year, the majority of the county’s high schools met the 93% requirement for the Cash for CAP program, and some went higher. Students “were really enthused about the prospects of making some additional money,” said Lau ra Wiggins, spokeswoman for Tustin Unified School District. For example, students at Foothill High School made “Zap the CAP” buttons, and in return, seniors will receive a share of whatever incentive money is awarded for caps and gowns, Wiggins said.

Newport-Mesa Unified was the only school district that elected not to participate in the incentive program. Only about 80% of the district’s students took the test, but Supt. John Nicoll said, “Putting a cash value on the kids’ taking a test really didn’t do too much for us. Students in the district showed gains in most subject areas.”

Overall, the county’s test scores reflected the socio-economic realities that are nearly always an important factor in academic testing.

Capistrano Valley High School in the affluent south Orange County area registered highest in the county in both math and reading scores. Valley High School near downtown Santa Ana was lowest in both subject areas.

But data supplied by students when they sat down to take their tests showed that 60% of Capistrano Valley students’ parents had either a college degree or some college education, and 24% have advanced degrees. All but 2% were at least high school graduates. Moreover, 99% of the students came from families that speak only English at home, and 79% had attended Capistrano schools before their high school years.

25% Attended College

By comparison, only 25% of Valley High School students’ parents have attended college, while 44% have not graduated from high school. Only 51% of the students come from English-only households, and nearly half of them entered the Santa Ana school system in their high school years.

“You can look at the school, you can look at the teachers, you can look at any other factor, but the family background is one of the strongest factors in how students perform,” said Vergil Hettick, district spokesman.

Actually, Valley High School showed improvement in every subject area except spelling, and the district as a whole also showed gains in every area--probably qualifying it for state incentive money.

Other districts with large low-income and minority populations, including Garden Grove, Orange and Huntington Beach, showed improvement in some areas and downturns in others. The Huntington Beach Union High School District was down in every subject area, but the difference in each case was less than a percentage point.

Orange County High School Test Scores 12th Grade

Anaheim Union CYPRESS HIGH Reading Writing Spelling Math 80-81 65. 65.6 71.8 72.4 81-82 64.6 66.0 69.0 71.0 82-83 63.9 64.9 70.7 69.2 83-84 66.4 66.2 68.9 71.6 84-85 66.6 67.9 73.4 74.1 ANAHEIM HIGH Reading Writing Spelling Math 80-81 60.1 62.8 67.4 68.8 81-82 56.3 58.5 66.7 63.1 82-83 53.2 54.2 64.7 62.6 83-84 59.0 61.2 67.3 67.2 84-85 54.7 54.5 64.1 62.9 KATELLA HIGH Reading Writing Spelling Math 80-81 65.4 66.3 69.6 72.4 81-82 66.7 66.2 68.3 71.4 82-83 67.0 67.8 72.4 75.4 83-84 66.8 66.8 72.2 73.2 84-85 65.9 66.7 71.9 75.9 KENNEDY HIGH Reading Writing Spelling Math 80-81 64.0 66.1 70.0 71.1 81-82 64.6 65.1 70.6 69.1 82-83 65.9 65.1 70.8 70.9 83-84 64.7 66.9 70.6 69.9 84-85 63.5 66.0 70.1 72.4 LOARA HIGH Reading Writing Spelling Math 80-81 66.8 66.7 70.3 73.2 81-82 67.1 66.9 69.0 70.6 82-83 63.6 67.2 71.3 71.0 83-84 66.7 68.2 71.5 73.3 84-85 66.5 67.3 72.3 72.2 MAGNOLIA HIGH Reading Writing Spelling Math 80-81 60.7 61.8 66.9 64.4 81-82 62.1 61.1 69.6 67.4 82-83 61.2 60.5 69.8 66.5 83-84 61.3 61.8 70.9 67.6 84-85 60.1 59.7 66.2 66.0 SAVANNA HIGH Reading Writing Spelling Math 80-81 64.5 66.1 70.6 69.3 81-82 60.9 61.7 69.3 67.5 82-83 62.5 65.8 70.3 70.2 83-84 63.3 63.8 72.4 69.1 84-85 62.2 65.1 73.1 68.0 WESTERN HIGH Reading Writing Spelling Math 80-81 62.6 63.5 73.5 67.3 81-82 62.2 62.1 70.3 63.8 82-83 61.9 62.6 70.6 64.4 83-84 58.2 59.8 68.6 65.7 84-85 64.2 62.8 69.6 68.6 Brea Olinda Unified BREA OLINDA HIGH Reading Writing Spelling Math 80-81 68.8 71.3 71.2 72.7 81-82 69.8 69.7 73.0 73.8 82-83 69.3 70.5 73.3 74.9 83-84 70.7 72.4 73.1 75.2 84-85 71.3 71.3 75.3 76.4 Capistrano Unified CAPISTRANO VALLEY HIGH Reading Writing Spelling Math 80-81 73.9 71.1 72.2 78.3 81-82 68.9 70.3 75.8 75.2 82-83 70.3 70.1 73.2 76.4 83-84 70.3 72.4 75.6 77.6 84-85 72.2 71.9 78.6 78.7 SAN CLEMENTE HIGH Reading Writing Spelling Math 80-81 66.8 67.5 71.6 74.1 81-82 67.9 68.1 72.3 71.8 82-83 71.7 69.1 74.8 77.4 83-84 70.4 69.4 75.4 75.1 84-85 67.9 71.3 74.0 73.8 DANA HILLS HIGH Reading Writing Spelling Math 80-81 70.4 70.9 83.0 73.4 81-82 69.6 68.7 71.0 72.2 82-83 68.0 68.8 72.3 71.9 83-84 67.5 66.6 74.4 74.1 84-85 68.3 68.1 71.6 72.4 Fullerton Union BUENA PARK HIGH Reading Writing Spelling Math 80-81 63.9 61.0 70.1 66.0 81-82 62.6 62.7 72.1 66.5 82-83 60.9 60.8 68.3 67.3 83-84 62.9 60.8 66.3 65.8 84-85 62.4 62.2 72.2 65.8 FULLERTON HIGH Reading Writing Spelling Math 80-81 63.3 63.0 70.1 68.8 81-82 63.0 64.7 71.6 70.8 82-83 64.0 66.1 71.9 71.1 83-84 62.8 65.5 71.6 70.4 84-85 62.1 65.2 72.9 69.7 LA HABRA HIGH Reading Writing Spelling Math 80-81 62.6 64.9 69.2 66.4 81-82 63.3 63.9 71.4 67.6 82-83 62.5 64.1 70.1 68.4 83-84 63.1 64.6 75.6 69.1 84-85 64.8 66.4 72.6 68.5 SONORA HIGH Reading Writing Spelling Math 80-81 65.9 65.4 72.2 70.8 81-82 67.9 68.0 73.1 74.4 82-83 66.1 66.9 69.4 71.9 83-84 65.3 66.8 70.7 71.3 84-85 64.5 65.2 71.9 70.0 SUNNY HILLS HIGH Reading Writing Spelling Math 80-81 69.6 69.3 71.4 75.5 81-82 69.5 71.2 74.1 76.0 82-83 67.4 68.4 73.2 74.1 83-84 66.5 67.7 73.2 73.9 84-85 67.8 72.9 75.1 77.6 TROY HIGH Reading Writing Spelling Math 80-81 67.5 68.6 70.7 71.0 81-82 66.8 67.8 71.0 71.2 82-83 67.6 68.1 77.4 74.4 83-84 64.4 65.7 70.6 69.0 84-85 64.8 68.9 71.6 71.4 Garden Grove BOLSA GRANDE HIGH Reading Writing Spelling Math 80-81 59.4 60.7 68.4 65.7 81-82 62.9 63.5 66.3 66.9 82-83 59.4 60.0 67.6 66.2 83-84 57.7 58.4 67.9 66.2 84-85 57.7 59.2 71.0 66.6 GARDEN GROVE HIGH Reading Writing Spelling Math 80-81 64.0 66.7 71.4 71.6 81-82 62.9 65.9 71.4 70.3 82-83 62.8 65.0 70.9 68.8 83-84 61.9 66.4 70.5 69.7 84-85 65.1 67.3 71.6 70.8 LA QUINTA HIGH Reading Writing Spelling Math 80-81 65.0 64.8 69.3 69.7 81-82 64.1 63.4 68.3 68.5 82-83 63.7 64.1 71.1 71.1 83-84 63.3 64.0 70.1 70.2 84-85 62.6 64.5 72.5 71.3 LOS AMIGOS HIGH Reading Writing Spelling Math 80-81 61.3 61.5 68.8 65.5 81-82 61.3 62.2 68.2 67.1 82-83 58.1 60.4 65.3 66.9 83-84 58.9 59.8 67.9 65.3 84-85 59.7 58.7 68.7 67.4 PACIFICA HIGH Reading Writing Spelling Math 80-81 65.1 64.9 67.6 70.2 81-82 66.5 67.9 72.8 71.7 82-83 64.1 66.0 71.3 70.9 83-84 66.6 66.8 71.2 72.8 84-85 65.4 67.1 71.8 71.4 RANCHO ALAMITOS HIGH Reading Writing Spelling Math 80-81 62.8 62.2 68.0 65.8 81-82 65.3 65.4 69.1 68.5 82-83 62.5 65.0 69.5 68.7 83-84 59.8 60.9 66.9 66.1 84-85 59.3 60.3 67.4 66.4 SANTIAGO HIGH Reading Writing Spelling Math 80-81 59.9 57.2 66.9 62.4 81-82 59.0 61.2 67.3 63.9 82-83 59.1 58.3 65.1 63.7 83-84 57.6 58.6 68.7 65.3 84-85 56.3 58.2 61.9 63.7 Huntington Beach OCEAN VIEW HIGH Reading Writing Spelling Math 80-81 65.3 65.2 71.0 71.2 81-82 63.8 64.1 69.6 69.1 82-83 68.6 68.7 73.5 74.5 83-84 67.7 68.1 72.6 71.5 84-85 66.1 64.7 70.1 71.5 EDISON HIGH Reading Writing Spelling Math 80-81 64.6 66.1 70.5 69.3 81-82 66.0 68.0 71.7 72.0 82-83 66.9 67.4 70.8 72.3 83-84 67.5 68.1 73.3 73.8 84-85 66.9 68.5 72.2 73.0 FOUNTAIN VALLEY HIGH Reading Writing Spelling Math 80-81 67.0 66.7 72.4 71.3 81-82 66.8 67.7 73.1 72.9 82-83 66.0 67.6 72.8 72.9 83-84 67.5 67.5 74.2 72.5 84-85 66.5 67.4 72.2 72.8 HUNTINGTON BEACH HIGH Reading Writing Spelling Math 80-81 64.7 65.3 72.5 71.0 81-82 67.0 66.2 72.7 71.9 82-83 63.8 64.9 70.5 70.4 83-84 65.4 66.2 70.4 70.8 84-85 62.7 64.6 70.5 70.1 MARINA HIGH Reading Writing Spelling Math 80-81 68.4 67.7 72.8 74.7 81-82 66.2 66.6 71.7 72.2 82-83 67.2 68.0 71.1 73.3 83-84 66.7 66.4 72.0 74.3 84-85 67.4 67.7 72.8 74.3 WESTMINSTER HIGH Reading Writing Spelling Math 80-81 64.1 64.2 70.2 69.1 81-82 65.9 66.3 72.8 70.9 82-83 65.7 65.6 71.6 70.1 83-84 63.2 64.8 68.7 71.3 84-85 63.6 66.2 72.1 69.5 Irvine Unified IRVINE HIGH Reading Writing Spelling Math 80-81 65.4 64.8 73.2 71.3 81-82 68.0 67.4 75.1 75.1 82-83 68.5 67.2 74.8 74.1 83-84 66.1 66.7 74.1 74.8 84-85 70.3 69.0 74.4 76.9 UNIVERSITY HIGH Reading Writing Spelling Math 80-81 70.0 69.9 74.1 76.3 81-82 68.7 71.4 76.2 73.8 82-83 68.6 70.8 74.7 75.1 83-84 71.6 72.0 76.5 76.8 84-85 68.8 72.4 78.1 78.3 WOODBRIDGE HIGH Reading Writing Spelling Math 82-83 73.0 74.4 74.9 76.9 83-84 69.4 70.9 73.7 74.2 84-85 70.0 71.6 75.9 76.9 Laguna Beach Unified LAGUNA BEACH HIGH Reading Writing Spelling Math 80-81 70.0 69.8 74.0 75.6 81-82 69.5 70.0 71.1 74.3 82-83 68.6 69.1 74.6 75.1 83-84 67.6 66.8 72.1 74.2 84-85 66.7 68.6 74.8 73.1 Los Alamitos Unified LOS ALAMITOS HIGH Reading Writing Spelling Math 80-81 69.0 71.2 71.4 76.2 81-82 67.8 68.6 69.8 73.7 82-83 67.1 69.8 72.4 75.2 83-84 66.7 67.6 71.3 73.6 84-85 66.3 67.6 71.1 72.4 Newport-Mesa Unified CORONA DEL MAR HIGH Reading Writing Spelling Math 80-81 70.3 71.0 74.8 73.9 81-82 69.7 71.9 74.8 76.5 82-83 71.9 73.9 74.6 76.4 83-84 73.5 73.4 75.2 76.7 84-85 69.5 72.4 71.5 76.4 COSTA MESA HIGH Reading Writing Spelling Math 80-81 63.6 65.0 69.9 71.6 81-82 62.0 63.3 70.9 68.4 82-83 61.4 61.3 69.6 69.0 83-84 64.6 65.0 72.0 73.4 84-85 64.0 67.0 69.6 69.9 ESTANCIA HIGH Reading Writing Spelling Math 80-81 62.4 62.4 71.1 70.3 81-82 71.1 70.5 74.9 75.9 82-83 71.6 70.1 81.9 77.7 83-84 71.8 67.6 75.6 73.9 84-85 69.0 68.6 74.4 73.8 NEWPORT HARBOR HIGH Reading Writing Spelling Math 80-81 67.8 67.6 70.0 74.1 81-82 69.1 68.0 70.5 73.7 82-83 69.2 68.0 70.2 74.2 83-84 67.2 67.7 70.0 71.6 84-85 71.0 73.0 73.8 75.9 Orange Unified CANYON HIGH Reading Writing Spelling Math 80-81 67.6 66.5 70.0 72.6 81-82 67.8 67.4 71.9 72.0 82-83 67.8 68.5 70.2 74.6 83-84 67.7 66.5 71.6 76.4 84-85 64.5 65.5 69.4 72.9 EL MODENA HIGH Reading Writing Spelling Math 80-81 65.9 65.4 68.2 72.4 81-82 66.4 67.7 71.7 72.0 82-83 66.2 66.1 71.9 71.0 83-84 66.2 66.2 70.6 71.6 84-85 65.1 63.9 71.7 71.3 ORANGE HIGH Reading Writing Spelling Math 80-81 65.2 65.1 69.8 69.9 81-82 64.1 65.6 67.0 70.4 82-83 61.9 62.6 69.5 68.2 83-84 62.6 63.4 67.4 70.0 84-85 63.2 61.4 70.0 68.9 VILLA PARK HIGH Reading Writing Spelling Math 80-81 69.8 68.5 71.2 74.5 81-82 69.0 68.7 70.5 76.4 82-83 68.7 68.5 71.3 73.3 83-84 69.5 68.6 71.8 75.9 84-85 69.5 68.0 72.5 75.8 Placentia Unified ESPERANZA HIGH Reading Writing Spelling Math 80-81 66.0 65.5 72.8 70.0 81-82 67.5 66.7 71.7 71.7 82-83 66.8 68.0 70.8 73.3 83-84 67.2 69.2 72.4 73.1 84-85 68.0 69.8 71.8 75.4 EL DORADO HIGH Reading Writing Spelling Math 80-81 67.2 67.3 74.2 73.7 81-82 66.8 68.1 71.7 70.5 82-83 66.5 66.4 73.2 71.8 83-84 65.9 67.8 71.5 72.6 84-85 66.9 68.6 73.7 76.3 VALENCIA HIGH Reading Writing Spelling Math 80-81 68.9 69.0 81.0 74.4 81-82 69.4 71.7 68.8 74.0 82-83 68.7 71.4 81.6 73.7 83-84 65.5 68.7 77.5 73.3 84-85 63.8 68.6 79.4 72.4 Saddleback Valley EL TORO HIGH Reading Writing Spelling Math 80-81 67.1 67.7 73.8 71.9 81-82 65.7 67.8 72.1 70.6 82-83 66.5 68.4 72.6 72.6 83-84 66.3 66.4 72.3 71.3 84-85 67.6 68.2 72.8 73.0 LAGUNA HILLS HIGH Reading Writing Spelling Math 80-81 66.0 66.0 69.3 74.2 81-82 68.2 66.5 72.4 73.3 82-83 66.1 66.7 70.5 73.1 83-84 65.6 65.5 69.5 71.0 84-85 68.1 70.2 76.6 75.8 MISSION VIEJO HIGH Reading Writing Spelling Math 80-81 68.7 69.2 74.3 76.5 81-82 71.0 71.8 72.4 76.6 82-83 70.4 69.5 72.9 76.0 83-84 69.3 70.2 73.5 74.0 84-85 71.1 71.1 74.2 78.0 Santa Ana Unified SADDLEBACK HIGH Reading Writing Spelling Math 80-81 59.5 59.4 67.3 64.9 81-82 59.5 58.0 66.5 64.6 82-83 55.3 56.9 67.1 64.1 83-84 60.8 62.1 68.1 66.7 84-85 60.6 60.6 68.6 66.3 SANTA ANA HIGH Reading Writing Spelling Math 80-81 57.4 58.6 67.2 62.4 81-82 56.7 58.5 66.9 63.4 82-83 58.4 58.2 66.7 61.9 83-84 55.8 57.4 64.8 62.5 84-85 56.8 59.7 67.7 64.8 VALLEY HIGH Reading Writing Spelling Math 80-81 56.3 56.1 66.3 62.3 81-82 53.4 53.1 65.0 59.4 82-83 50.9 51.2 62.2 61.5 83-84 53.7 52.9 68.7 61.1 84-85 54.1 54.3 65.4 61.2 Tustin Unified FOOTHILL HIGH Reading Writing Spelling Math 80-81 69.9 70.1 73.6 75.1 81-82 72.0 69.7 72.5 76.7 82-83 69.9 71.2 73.8 75.4 83-84 69.7 69.4 72.6 75.6 84-85 69.6 71.6 73.0 78.2 TUSTIN HIGH Reading Writing Spelling Math 80-81 66.4 67.7 72.0 72.8 81-82 67.6 66.8 74.4 71.9 82-83 63.6 65.5 71.5 69.5 83-84 65.4 64.3 69.6 70.2 84-85 66.7 66.3 74.6 73.2