Schools Reap Windfalls for Higher State Test Scores

Although many school officials in Los Angeles County privately express reservations about the state Department of Education’s cash-incentive program to improve scores on the California Assessment Program tests, they publicly laud the reward system--especially if their school won.

This year, 134 county high schools will receive bonus money, ranging from $219 at Rosemead High School in the El Monte school district to $168,800 at Bell Gardens High School in the Montebello district.

Statewide, 548 high schools, or 48%, raised their scores in reading, writing, mathematics and spelling to qualify for the incentive money. Other factors determining the amount of the awards include the number of students who took the test and how well they performed in specific categories. A total of $14.6 million will be distributed this year, the second year of the state-financed program.

Second-Largest Winner

“I couldn’t begin to tell you how excited we were without carrying on like a maniac,” said Bell Gardens Principal Frances Riley. The Montebello school earned the second-highest amount in the state, following Roosevelt High School in Fresno, which won $192,000.

Bell Gardens did not qualify for a cash award last year, Riley said, so the staff and students doubled their efforts to prepare this year’s seniors to take the test and hoped their hard work would pay off.

“All I was worrying about was a couple thousand dollars to pay for annuals for the seniors,” Riley said. “When we found out how much we won, we could not believe it. I thought for sure some error had been made.”

Most of the winning schools have yet to decide how they will spend their earnings. Under the state guidelines, each school must establish a committee of students, teachers and parents to determine how the money will be used.

Last year, many schools used the funds to beautify their campuses or to purchase new computers and other supplies. Others also tried to use a portion of the cash to help seniors with their graduation expenses.

Parents, Community Pitched In

Another big winner was Polytechnic High School in Long Beach, which will receive $127,214. Principal Wayne Piercy said the entire school, parents and community members got involved this year to encourage seniors to take the optional test, which is administered in December. Last year only 89% of the graduating class opted to take it, but this year that figure rose to 98%. The seniors’ scores rose slightly over last year’s in all four areas.

According to state guidelines, a school qualifies for the incentive award if its overall score rises and if at least 93% of the seniors took the exam. In Los Angeles County, as in the state as a whole, scores generally rose this year, except in reading, which dipped slightly.

Sample Questions For 12th Graders

LYING IN A HAMMOCK AT WILLIAM DUFFY’S FARM IN PINE ISLAND, MINN.

Over my head, I see the bronze butterfly,

Asleep on the black trunk,

Blowing like a leaf in green shadow.

Down the ravine behind the empty house,

The cowbells follow one another

Into the distances of the afternoon.

To my right,

In a field of sunlight between two pines,

The droppings of last year’s horses

Blaze up into golden stones.

I lean back, as the evening darkens and comes on.

A chicken hawk floats over, looking for home.

I have wasted my life.

Which of the following best describes the speaker’s hammock experience? dullness awareness boredom tranquility.

The seven sentences below are in a scrambled order. Some of them can be put together to make a single, unified paragraph. Before attempting to answer any questions, read all of the sentences carefully.

A It probably received its name from its copper-colored head which is triangular.

B Like the rattlesnake, it is a member of the pit viper family having a hollow or pit between the eye and the nostril.

C The copperhead was once the most common and widely distributed of all venomous snakes in the United States.

D This may be the reason that Democrats in the North who sympathized with the South in the Civil War were called “copperheads,” for they were suspected of treachery.

E Unlike the rattlesnake, it has no rattles and strikes without warning.

F Augustus Thomas wrote a full length drama that he called The Copperhead .

G Today, however, it is most frequently found in sparsely settled areas of the South.

Which sentence most logically follows sentence C?

Sentence A

Sentence E

Sentence B

Sentence G

Answers: awareness. Sentence G.

AWARDS TO SCHOOLS

School Tested District Amount Cerritos 512 ABC Unified $24,721 Tracy 88 ABC Unified 1,206 Gahr 443 ABC Unified 18,305 Somerset Cont 71 Bellflower 19,914 Centennial 186 Compton 40,194 Tubman 54 Compton 8,927 Downey 420 Downey 87,511 El Rancho 370 El Rancho 33,586 Avalon 22 Long Beach 8,800 Jordan 478 Long Beach 77,472 Lakewood 626 Long Beach 51,990 Millikan 655 Long Beach 88,282 Poly 686 Long Beach 127,214 Reid 24 Long Beach 826 Hunt. Park 524 Los Angele 15,055 South Gate 386 Los Angeles 69,020 Lynwood 424 Lynwood 36,193 Bell Gardens 422 Montebello 168,800 Montebello 420 Montebello 24,823 Vail 30 Montebello 12,000 La Mirada 351 Norwalk-LM 7,790 Michelson Cont 1 Paramount 400 Whittier 308 Whittier 402

1985-86 TEST SCORES FOR 12TH GRADERS HOW TO READ THE SCORES

The results of the standardized California Assessment Program test are reported below for high schools in the Southeast / Long Beach area. Additional scores for schools in other areas may be found in today’s Metro section.

This is how to read the scores:

Schools are listed alphabetically by district. The scores indicate the percentage of correct answers and show progress over three years. Dashes indicate that tests were not given or that scores were not available. Continuation high schools have not been included.

In general, a fluctuation of 10 points or more is considered statistically significant. A rise or fall of 9 points or less is not.

Third-, sixth- and eighth-grade students took the test this spring, and their scores will be reported in the fall.

State, County

Averages

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

Reading Writing Spelling Math 83-84 62.2 62.6 69.4 67.4 84-85 62.9 63.2 69.7 68.3 85-86 62.7 63.4 70.1 68.7

LOS ANGELES COUNTY

Reading Writing Spelling Math 83-84 59.4 59.8 68.0 64.3 84-85 60.1 60.5 68.3 65.3 85-86 58.6 59.8 68.0 65.0

ABC Unified

DISTRICT AVERAGE

Reading Writing Spelling Math 83-84 63.1 63.2 71.9 68.4 84-85 63.6 64.3 71.7 71.2 85-86 62.5 64.0 71.0 72.7

ARTESIA HIGH

Reading Writing Spelling Math 83-84 61.0 59.3 72.5 69.1 84-85 61.5 59.1 69.8 69.0 85-86 57.3 58.9 66.1 73.4

CERRITOS HIGH

Reading Writing Spelling Math 83-84 62.9 63.2 71.6 65.3 84-85 64.3 66.6 72.0 69.0 85-86 64.5 66.4 72.9 70.7

GAHR HIGH

Reading Writing Spelling Math 83-84 62.4 63.2 69.8 67.7 84-85 61.7 62.6 70.0 71.0 85-86 62.2 63.1 70.7 71.2

WHITNEY

Reading Writing Spelling Math 83-84 75.0 77.5 79.7 83.9 84-85 74.9 77.7 83.4 88.5 85-86 72.9 75.2 81.8 86.1

Bellflower Unified

DISTRICT AVERAGE

Reading Writing Spelling Math 83-84 62.9 62.5 69.4 65.3 84-85 60.8 62.3 68.3 67.4 85-86 58.5 60.9 71.3 66.9

BELLFLOWER HIGH

Reading Writing Spelling Math 83-84 61.6 61.7 66.5 65.9 84-85 59.0 60.3 67.2 66.5 85-86 56.8 58.3 67.6 67.5

MAYFAIR HIGH

Reading Writing Spelling Math 83-84 64.0 63.2 71.8 64.9 84-85 62.7 64.4 69.3 68.4 85-86 60.2 63.6 75.1 66.3

Compton Unified

DISTRICT AVERAGE

Reading Writing Spelling Math 83-84 48.1 48.7 61.1 47.9 84-85 49.4 48.3 59.9 48.7 85-86 48.8 47.8 60.9 48.5

CENTENNIAL HIGH

Reading Writing Spelling Math 83-84 47.2 50.1 59.9 44.9 84-85 47.7 43.6 58.9 44.6 85-86 50.1 46.9 61.3 46.5

COMPTON HIGH

Reading Writing Spelling Math 83-84 49.2 48.0 61.1 47.0 84-85 52.7 51.1 60.5 49.6 85-86 47.4 49.7 61.2 48.4

DOMINGUEZ HIGH

Reading Writing Spelling Math 83-84 47.1 48.8 62.0 51.0 84-85 47.5 48.5 59.9 50.3 85-86 49.2 46.9 60.3 49.8

Downey Unified

DISTRICT AVERAGE

Reading Writing Spelling Math 83-84 64.4 65.6 69.1 68.4 84-85 64.5 65.2 69.4 67.2 85-86 64.9 64.7 70.6 68.9

DOWNEY HIGH

Reading Writing Spelling Math 83-84 64.6 64.2 71.2 67.3 84-85 62.0 63.0 67.5 64.2 85-86 64.9 64.2 71.6 66.8

WARREN HIGH

Reading Writing Spelling Math 83-84 64.2 67.2 66.9 69.7 84-85 67.3 67.8 71.6 70.5 85-86 64.8 65.4 68.5 71.4

El Rancho Unified

DISTRICT AVERAGE

Reading Writing Spelling Math 83-84 59.6 62.0 70.4 63.3 84-85 57.4 57.4 67.1 61.7 85-86 58.7 59.1 67.1 62.2

EL RANCHO HIGH

Reading Writing Spelling Math 83-84 59.6 62.0 70.4 63.3 84-85 57.4 57.4 67.1 61.7 85-86 58.7 59.1 67.1 62.2

Long Beach

Unified

DISTRICT AVERAGE

Reading Writing Spelling Math 83-84 58.1 58.2 68.2 62.6 84-85 59.6 58.8 68.2 64.2 85-86 59.6 59.4 69.3 65.7

AVALON HIGH

Reading Writing Spelling Math 83-84 67.4 56.8 59.4 68.6 84-85 54.4 59.2 69.0 69.3 85-86 66.6 69.2 70.5 66.1

JORDAN HIGH

Reading Writing Spelling Math 83-84 56.4 56.0 66.8 59.3 84-85 56.9 55.3 64.3 57.7 85-86 57.5 57.2 68.2 60.2

LAKEWOOD HIGH

Reading Writing Spelling Math 83-84 61.6 61.8 72.4 66.2 84-85 59.5 60.2 70.2 66.8 85-86 61.5 61.0 68.2 67.9

MILLIKAN HIGH

Reading Writing Spelling Math 83-84 56.0 56.9 65.0 61.8 84-85 58.7 57.5 66.5 62.2 85-86 58.3 58.8 70.5 65.2

POLYTECHNIC HIGH

Reading Writing Spelling Math 83-84 54.9 55.3 67.0 59.2 84-85 59.2 59.0 68.6 64.1 85-86 61.1 60.6 70.2 67.3

WILSON HIGH

Reading Writing Spelling Math 83-84 61.4 60.9 70.6 65.9 84-85 63.0 61.1 70.1 68.0 85-86 59.0 58.9 69.0 66.3

Los Angeles

Unified

DISTRICT AVERAGE

Reading Writing Spelling Math 83-84 56.4 56.6 65.8 61.3 84-85 57.3 57.4 66.7 62.3 85-86 56.7 57.5 66.8 62.5

BELL HIGH

Reading Writing Spelling Math 83-84 50.0 52.1 61.2 55.2 84-85 54.4 52.3 63.5 58.9 85-86 52.6 51.4 63.8 58.4

HUNTINGTON PARK HIGH

Reading Writing Spelling Math 83-84 50.2 49.7 63.0 56.7 84-85 52.4 51.7 62.5 56.9 85-86 51.8 51.5 63.2 58.6

SOUTH GATE HIGH

Reading Writing Spelling Math 83-84 51.6 51.7 60.5 57.2 84-85 52.3 55.0 64.9 60.8 85-86 55.6 55.8 65.7 63.3

Lynwood Unified

DISTRICT AVERAGE

Reading Writing Spelling Math 83-84 50.8 52.3 63.7 54.0 84-85 51.2 52.2 61.3 52.0 85-86 51.2 52.2 65.4 54.0

LYNWOOD HIGH

Reading Writing Spelling Math 83-84 50.8 52.3 63.7 54.0 84-85 51.2 52.2 61.3 52.0 85-86 51.2 52.2 65.4 54.0

Montebello Unified

DISTRICT AVERAGE

Reading Writing Spelling Math 83-84 56.8 57.4 68.3 62.9 84-85 57.0 58.2 65.7 62.9 85-86 59.1 59.1 68.0 62.7

BELL GARDENS HIGH

Reading Writing Spelling Math 83-84 51.4 50.6 62.9 56.7 84-85 52.9 52.4 61.1 58.5 85-86 59.7 58.6 69.0 59.3

MONTEBELLO HIGH

Reading Writing Spelling Math 83-84 56.7 56.2 69.5 62.6 84-85 55.8 57.0 64.9 60.2 85-86 57.2 57.4 65.1 60.6

SCHURR HIGH

Reading Writing Spelling Math 83-84 61.5 64.5 71.7 68.7 84-85 61.2 63.9 70.2 68.9 85-86 59.9 60.6 69.5 67.3

Norwalk-La Mirada

DISTRICT AVERAGE

Reading Writing Spelling Math 83-84 59.8 59.3 68.9 62.6 84-85 61.3 60.7 70.4 64.1 85-86 59.4 59.3 68.4 62.3

GLENN HIGH

Reading Writing Spelling Math 83-84 56.5 53.9 66.1 60.1 84-85 59.8 56.3 65.5 61.4 85-86 55.8 55.1 65.7 59.3

LA MIRADA HIGH

Reading Writing Spelling Math 83-84 62.5 62.9 69.2 65.4 84-85 61.9 63.1 71.8 66.6 85-86 63.3 63.7 69.5 66.3

NORWALK HIGH

Reading Writing Spelling Math 83-84 59.9 60.2 71.5 61.5 84-85 61.9 61.5 73.1 63.2 85-86 58.2 58.0 70.0 60.4

Paramount Unified

DISTRICT AVERAGE

Reading Writing Spelling Math 83-84 65.7 63.6 83.8 68.1 84-85 57.4 56.8 73.7 59.7 85-86 55.2 53.9 71.1 59.7

PARAMOUNT HIGH

Reading Writing Spelling Math 83-84 65.7 63.6 83.8 68.1 84-85 57.4 56.8 73.7 59.7 85-86 55.2 53.9 71.1 59.7

Whittier Union

DISTRICT AVERAGE

Reading Writing Spelling Math 83-84 61.5 60.8 69.7 65.6 84-85 62.0 61.1 68.8 65.8 85-86 61.7 61.9 68.7 67.4

CALIFORNIA HIGH

Reading Writing Spelling Math 83-84 64.2 63.3 72.8 67.4 84-85 64.2 62.6 68.4 65.5 85-86 65.9 64.3 68.3 68.2

LA SERNA HIGH

Reading Writing Spelling Math 83-84 60.9 60.8 67.9 65.9 84-85 62.1 62.9 68.4 66.5 85-86 60.4 62.1 70.3 68.0

PIONEER HIGH

Reading Writing Spelling Math 83-84 58.6 57.7 67.2 62.8 84-85 58.3 58.3 65.7 63.8 85-86 58.1 57.5 67.0 64.6

SANTA FE HIGH

Reading Writing Spelling Math 83-84 62.0 60.0 71.7 67.2 84-85 60.8 61.0 68.9 68.3 85-86 60.7 62.4 69.2 67.1

WHITTIER HIGH

Reading Writing Spelling Math 83-84 61.3 62.5 68.8 64.6 84-85 65.3 61.4 73.8 65.2 85-86 62.4 63.2 68.7 68.6