Test Scores Reflect State Trend : 3rd, 6th Grades Improve; 8th-Graders Show Decline

New test scores in Orange County public schools generally reflect a statewide trend toward improvement at the third- and sixth-grade levels but some decreases in the eighth grade.

Various school officials from Orange County’s 12 unified and 13 elementary districts said Friday that their California Assessment Program test scores for elementary grades last year generally followed the state trend.

State officials said the trend indicates that not enough attention has been given to education reform--more homework and tougher courses--at the junior high level.

“We’re extremely happy with our third-grade (CAP scores), and we’re satisfied with our sixth-grade results,” said Dale Woolley, research director for the Newport-Mesa Unified School District in Newport Beach and Costa Mesa.

“We’re not as happy with our eighth-grade results,” he said. “It appears we have a little work to do in the eighth grade.”

Comments on Trend

Orange County’s district-by-district results in the third, sixth and eighth grades will not be publicly released until Nov. 25, the state Department of Education said Friday. But individual districts already have received their test scores, and some officials on Friday commented on the general trend.

The state-required tests are administered to all third-, sixth-, eighth- and 12th-grade students in public schools each year. The purpose is to assess whether students are improving in reading, writing and math, compared to school districts of similar size and socioeconomic population.

For the first time, a testing of social science knowledge was added this year at the eighth-grade level.

The 12th-grade test scores in Orange County were made public earlier this year.

In Sacramento, Bill Honig, state superintendent of public instruction, told a meeting of the state Board of Education Friday that the statewide trend shows third- and sixth-grade students making major gains on test scores but eighth-grade students dropping in reading and writing scores.

Honig said the eighth-grade results statewide were “disquieting.” He added: “We’ve got some major work to do in the middle schools and junior highs. They’ve been a neglected area in the whole (education) reform movement.”

Honig also said the state results showed sharply lower scores for children who reported watching a lot of television than for children who watched two hours or less a day.

“There’s a direct correlation between the amount of television watched and test scores,” Honig said.

In Orange County, school district officials said they noted some drops in eighth-grade test results in their districts.

“In grades three and six, we’re about where we expect to be,” said Ed Dundon, superintendent of Garden Grove Unified. “I’m not satisfied with the social science results in grade eight. That’s an area we’re going to have to improve.”

Decline in Scores

Garden Grove Unified, with about 36,500 students, is the largest in Orange County. Santa Ana Unified, with about 36,000 students, is a close second in size.

Diane Thomas, spokeswoman for Santa Ana Unified, said Friday: “Our third- and sixth-grade scores are essentially the same as last year, but we’re showing a decline in the eighth-grade scores.”

Pres Jones, an assistant superintendent in the Fountain Valley (Elementary) School District, said the CAP scores there showed increases at the third- and sixth-grade levels but decreases in some areas in the eighth-grade scores.

Brea-Olinda Unified in north Orange County experienced the inverse of the statewide phenomenon: The district’s eighth and sixth grades showed across-the-board test score improvements, but the third-grade scores declined or stayed the same in two testing areas.

Los Alamitos Unified bucked the state trend by showing test-score improvements in all grades.

“Our test scores were up districtwide in grades three, six and eight,” said Charles McCully, Los Alamitos’ superintendent. “We’ve been emphasizing writing for the past four or five years, and it’s paying off.”