Results Mixed on 12th-Grade CAP Test

The city’s high school seniors posted gains in mathematics and spelling in the 1985-86 California Assessment Program tests but showed no progress in writing and lost some ground in reading, results show.

However, 14 of 19 eligible city high schools are expected to receive rewards under the state’s “Cash for CAPs” program, which offers schools payments for improving their test scores. Last year, 11 schools earned rewards ranging from $989 to $126,946.

Bob Raines, program evaluator for the San Diego Unified School District, called the results “one of those mixed things. Obviously we’re pleased with the way spelling and math went up. We don’t see the kind of improvement in reading and written expression we’d like.”

The results, which will be presented to the Board of Education at its meeting Tuesday, showed that the 5,660 seniors tested answered 71.2% of the math questions correctly, 71% in spelling, 63.5% in written expression and 63.7% in reading.

Last year, they scored 70.6% in math, 69.8% in spelling, 63.5% in written expression and 63.8% in reading.

The 1985-86 writing score puts the district in the bottom 25% of similar school districts statewide.

While school officials do not know how much money the improved test scores will bring to the 14 high schools, San Diego High School and Muir Alternative School should earn the largest payments for posting the biggest increases in test scores.

Mira Mesa High School, which last year earned one of the state’s highest payments, $126,946, this year posted the city’s largest drop in test scores.

Schools expected to receive payments are: Crawford, Garfield, Patrick Henry, Hoover, La Jolla, Lincoln, Madison, Mission Bay, Morse, Muir Alternative, O’Farrell School of Creative and Performing Arts, Point Loma, San Diego and University City.