Calif. High School Senior Test Scores Best in 10 Years

California high school seniors broke two 10-year records, hitting the highest 12th-grade academic test results with the largest annual increase in scores, education officials said today.

“This is a proud moment for California’s schools” that proves education reform is working, said Bill Honig, the nonpartisan superintendent of public instruction who is battling Republican Gov. George Deukmejian for more education money in the 1987-88 state budget.

Honig said the California Assessment Program results for 12th-graders were “the highest scores in 10 years for all test categories,” which include reading, written expression, spelling and math.

“This year’s increase in scores also is the highest ever achieved in one year” by high school seniors, Honig said.

Officials said math increased 1.3 points to a score of 70; reading, 0.9 to 63.6; written expression, 0.7 to 64.1, and spelling, 0.5 to 70.6.

The scores exceeded the statewide targets that were set in 1983 for Assessment Program math and reading scores. The 1987 target established four years ago in math, for example, was 68.9, and the 1983 base level was 67.4.

The high school seniors, who have been educated for four years in schools influenced by 1983 school-improvement legislation, have “proven that higher standards and more rigorous courses make a difference,” Honig said.

“Across the board the results signal resounding support for the education reform movement in California. Clearly, investing in the system pays off.”

The testing program also is administered to grades 3, 6 and 8, with test scores reported in the fall. Scores for individual high schools will be released at a later date.